AGAINST THE DEAD HANDWhat's the most powerful, dynamic, and irresistible force at work in the 21st-century economy? If you said globalization, millions of people agree with you-and all of you might be wrong. In Against the Dead Hand, Brink Lindsey looks at the realities of globalization and concludes that the genie is not yet out of the bottle.A senior fellow at the Cato Institute and Director of the Institute's Center for Trade Policy Studies, Lindsey is in a position to know that much of the triumphalism that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union and the emergence of world markets was premature. He demonstrates that international economic integration has faced-and will continue to face-a daunting array of obstacles still in place after the worldwide failure of top-down economic control.Against the Dead Hand traces the rise and fall of the central-planning ideologies that dominated the 20th century, from the extreme of Soviet Communism to social democracy in the West to the protectionism seen virtually everywhere. It reveals the remarkable extent to which the "dead hand" of the old collectivist dream still shapes the contours of today's world economy, and it explains the complex political and economic dynamics that drive globalization forward in spite of the obstacles.This provocative book combines historical perspective and analytical insight with incisive and colorful reporting from the world's current economic trouble spots. Lindsey's rich and nuanced portrait of globalization provides invaluable guidance for investors, entrepreneurs, and corporate managers who must contend with the uncertainty and volatility that now roils the world economy.Challenging, contrarian, and meticulously researched, Against the Dead Hand will convince you that the greatest rewards of globalization are still in the future and that those who profit most will be those who understand and respond to today's realities.