In Defense of Global Capitalism

by Nima Sanandaji
by Nima Sanandaji

Who could have guessed that one of the most read libertarian writers would come from a Scandinavian welfare state?

Johan Norberg, a-32-year-old Swedish writer, is perhaps today most known for his book In Defense of Global Capitalism. The book, which was published in 2001, forcefully debunks the ideas of the protectionalist left and explains why capitalism, free trade and deregulation is the way out of poverty for third-world countries.

The book received admiration from libertarians, conservatives and some liberals alike.

"In Defense of Global Capitalism sold well in Sweden and, in translation, has become a minor classic of the American Right. Through a mixture of personal anecdote, political philosophizing, and number crunching, Norberg makes a convincing moral and economic case that global capitalism helps the world's poor."

~ Eli Lehrer, The American Enterprise, December 2002

"In spite of everything, Norberg's book isn't wretched through and through. There is certainly a need for criticism of left-wingers who speak of constantly growing inequalities, who utter doomsday prophecies of the earth's destruction and devote themselves to a fairly diffuse and destructive criticism both of free trade and of global economic institutions. Norberg is right in claiming that the global distribution of incomes has on the whole become more equal. Capitalism's ousting of feudalism, coupled with the abolition of a number of trade restrictions, has on the whole, and with certain exceptions, helped to bring about this equalisation."

~ Johan Lönnroth, Economic spokesman for the Swedish Left Party (the former communists)

In Defense of Global Capitalism is perhaps one of the most widely spread modern libertarian books. It has been translated to some 20 languages already and new translations are en route. Today it is possible to read Norberg's arguments for capitalism and freedom in Chinese, Czech and Urdu, to name a few languages. The German publisher has chosen the ambitious title: Das Kapitalistische Manifest.

But Norberg's first book was not quite a capitalist manifesto. The book explained why the anti-globalisation movement would only harm the poor and how free market reforms would benefit developing countries. But as the writer himself has explained, there was something lacking in the book. Although Norberg's arguments managed to win ground in the globalisation debate, many of those who read his book never fully grasped why capitalism was not only an efficient, but also a moral system – a system necessary for releasing the creative capacity of individuals.

Recently Norberg has released his new book: How Mankind Created the World. Although the book has yet to be translated into other languages than Swedish, it might be worthwhile to write a brief summary of what will most likely become another global bestseller.

In some 500 pages Johan Norberg explains how free markets and individual freedom have enabled countries that have adopted capitalism and reduced the power of central government to expand economically and technologically to a point where the ordinary man today in many ways has a higher living standard than the kings who lived some 200 years ago (such as access to modern health care, sanitary facilities, higher life span). Norberg also debunks the ideas of the various leftwing ideologies (environmentalists, feminists, advocates of "fair trade" and advocates of "corporate social responsibility") and explains why the modern welfare states hinder human development.

But haven’t similar ideas already been told by other libertarian writers? Well, yes, but there is still something about Norberg's new book which makes it a book to keep an eye on: the writer’s ability to reach out to a wide public and skillfully and emotionally argue for libertarian ideas.

One should remember that the ideas presented in In Defense of Global Capitalism also had been presented by other writers. But it is something to reach out to a libertarian audience and another to popularize one's ideas to 20-something languages. Few Swedish political books are translated to other languages. How Mankind Created the World is one that most certainly will receive this treatment in the coming months and years. It is a book written with passion. A book that thoroughly explains why capitalism and individual freedom should be the cornerstones of any society, but does this in a way that is accessible and indeed fascinating to read even for people who are not that much into politics.

Sometimes Norberg might be too optimistic about the future of libertarianism. But his writings are certainly of great value for communicating the ideas of liberty to a wide audience. Even for devoted libertarians it is full of examples and anecdotes which make it a joy to read. So keep an eye out for the English translation.

Johan Norberg's homepage can be found at johannorberg.net. His blog is updated in both Swedish and English. You can find information about his books but also the TV program "Globalisation is good" which he created in cooperation with the UK Channel 4.

June 12, 2006

Nima Sanandaji [send him mail] is president of the Swedish think tank Captus and the editor of Captus Journal. He is a graduate student in biochemistry at the University of Cambridge.

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