A World without Walls: Freedom, Development, Free Trade and Global Governance

Description

Mike Moore's reflection on his time as Director-General of the World Trade Organization is an important addition to the great globalization debate. Moore explains how a boy, who left school at fourteen to work in a slaughterhouse, came to head an organization charged with bringing rules and order to the world's trading system. Arriving at the WTO shortly before the ill-fated Seattle meeting, Moore sought to reform the Organization, addressing the concerns of poorer countries and engaging in open debate with the often hostile NGOs. He is proud of the outcome of the Doha meeting in November 2001 which secured commitment to a new round of trade talks with a focus on development. Moore rebuts the attacks against the WTO arguing that the WTO's promise of rules-based free trade offers the best hope for lifting millions of the world's poorest citizens out of poverty.

Mike Moore, the Director-General of the World Trade Organization from 1999-2002, is a former New Zealand Prime Minister, Trade Minister, Foreign Minister and Deputy Finance Minister. He is also the author of A Brief History of the Future, Children of the Poor, Fighting for New Zealand and the Added Value Economy, amongst other books.

'Mike Moore makes a strong case for the benefits of free trade and open markets. But he warns that global governance needs to be rethought to cope with the challenges of globalization. A wide ranging and thought-provoking book.' George Soros, author of George Soros on Globalization 'Mike, a man essentially educated by the brute force of real-life challenges, has produced in this book an honest account of his very fine tenure as WTO Director-General. Those curious about either the evolution of the multilateral trading system, or interesting leaders, will find this book very enjoyable.' Ernesto Zedillo, Former President of Mexico 'Mike Moore is that rare politician: a doer who is also a thinker. He pulled off Doha, putting the bumbling failure of Seattle behind us. In this fascinating book, he demonstrates that he can also speak to intellectuals, placing trade liberalization, indeed globalization, into an ambitious but realistic framework that can serve as an effective antidote to the anti-globalizers. And he does it elegantly and articulately. New Zealand has two great voices: Kiri Te Kanawa and Mike Moore.' Jagdish Bhagwati, Columbia University and author of Free Trade Today 'A well-written and extremely readable book which provides a useful introduction to the reality of globalisation.' Morning Star 'A World Without Walls is excellent at giving a glimpse of what goes on behind closed doors in the negotiating process, viewed from the position of an official mandated to bring together the different parties and to secure an agreement.' Times Higher Education Supplement '... a fascinating read ... Moore is a very gifted writer. He supports his arguments through a wide range of sources and an extensive and reflective discussion which makes this book interesting and relevant to a wider audience beyond just academia or professionals interested in trade negotiations.' International Affairs 'Reading Mike Moore's book is not unlike spending half an hour with the man himself. It amounts to a thorough battering by fact, anecdote, protest and personal conviction ... no reader could conclude anything other than that the WTO must succeed.' Peter Sutherland (Chairman of Goldman Sachs International and former DG of WTO), Financial Times 'Worthy of a place ... in the bestseller charts.' London Diplomat '... an impassioned defence of free trade.' The Straits Times 'Anyone who is planning to attend the next anti-globalisation protest should read this book, and then honestly consider whether they are really on the right side of the argument.' Management Information Strategies '... splendidly robust defence of free trade ... the ability to preserve a sense of humour about trade and its disputes is one of the strengths of this lively, practical and refreshingly unacademic book. Moore is frank about the discrepancy between promise and practice at the WTO, which 'usually does the right thing the wrong way, and the long way' ... since Seattle is commonly described as a victory for the anti-globalization brigade, Moore's tragicomic account of the reasons why the launch of the new trade round had to be aborted is important.' Times Literary Supplement 'A World Without Walls is not just an informative read, but an entertaining and genuinely interesting one as well.' Journal of World Trade Review '... the examination of globalisation and related issues is interesting and thought-provoking ...'. Journal of International Trade Law & Policy 'A World without Walls is an informative, challenging and well-written work ...'. Asian Journal of Social Science