Megatrends Asia - Softcover

Naisbitt, John

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1857881443 ISBN 13: 9781857881448

Publisher: Brealey, Nicholas Publishing, 1997

Synopsis

While the attention of the West has been fixed on the USSR and Eastern Europe, a quieter, cumulative revolution has been taking place in Asia which may have even more profound consequences for world history. As we move towards 2000, Asia will become the dominant region of the world: economically, politically and culturally. Up until the 1990s, the West set the rules. Now, Asians are creating their own rules and will soon determine the game as well. Even Japan will be left behind as the countries of South East Asia, led by the Overseas Chinese and China, increasingly hold economic sway. In the Asian Renaissance, a new network of nations based on economic symbiosis and the enterprise of the Overseas Chinese is emerging in a global shift of the world's centre of economic and political gravity. The Asian continent, from India to Japan, from below the old Soviet Union down to Indonesia, now accounts for more than half of the world's population. And as many as half a billion will be what the West consider middle class. That market is roughly the size of the United States and Europe combined. This is a consumer miracle holding vast economic consequences. Furthermore, a huge urban shift is moving Asia to the information age as it rushes towards computers and telecommunications. There is an unprecedented increase in women entrepreneurs. Asians believe that not only is the cost of the welfare state a heavy burden on competitiveness, but it is also socially destructive; in Asia, families take care of themselves above all else. This raises central questions for the West, especially for the USA and Europe. The modernization of Asia is best understood not as Westernization, but as the Asianization of Asia as the global axis of influence shifts from West to East. The eight Asian megatrends that are changing the world are: from nation states to networks; from export-led to consumer-driven; from Western influence to the Asian way; from government-controlled to market-driven; from villages to supercities; from labour-intensive to high technology; from male dominance to the emergence of women; and from West to East. John Naisbitt is the author of "Megatrends" and "Global Paradox".

About this title

About the Author

John Naisbitt, bestselling author of Megatrends, is recognized as one of the world's top social forecasters. He has been a visiting fellow at Harvard, a visiting professor at Moscow State University and is Distinguished International Fellow of the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS), Malaysia. He is a renowned international speaker.

From Library Journal

This latest work by mega-best-selling author Naisbitt identifies eight Asian megatrends that are reshaping our world. The number eight, considered lucky in Asia, is significant here. Coming political, economic, and cultural changes will soon render Asia the dominant region of the world, and Naisbitt offers advice that will help the reader profit by the changes. The work looks at the region as a whole. In general, things Western are falling out of favor, as key places return to Chinese rule. However, Western problems such as divorce and crime are on the increase. The magnitude and far-reaching effects of the modernization of Asia are emphasized here; Naisbitt even asserts that the changes in modernization are without question the most important events taking place in the world today. Japan has just begun an economic decline that will increase rapidly in the coming years. The book does not linger long on any topic but gives readers snippets of information before moving on. A chart contrasts Asian and American values, shedding light on the respective cultures. Not surprisingly, Americans are said to value individual rights over an orderly society, which may explain the situation in which we currently find ourselves. Extensive notes are provided. Recommended for all public and academic libraries. (Index not seen.)-Lisa K. Miller, Paradise Valley Community Coll. Lib., Phoenix
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Brealey, Nicholas Publishing
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 1857881443
• ISBN 13: 9781857881448
• Binding: Paperback