Beyond Interdependence: The Meshing of the World's Economy and the Earth's Ecology

Over the last year, the world has seen some cataclysmic changes. Eastern Europe is no longer yoked with Soviet communism, Germany is again a single, powerful nation, and Russia itself is pursuing a free-market economy at an almost frantic pace. Yet as we focus on the triumph of democracy, it is easy to overlook the potentially catastrophic changes that face the world environment, changes that are inextricably linked to the workings of the political and economic institutions of our time.Beyond Interdependence builds upon the Brundtland Commission's landmark report Our Common Future, a book that has been hailed as "the most important document of the decade on the future of the world" and has sold over one-half million copies in nineteen foreign languages. Dr. Jim MacNeill, the principal author of both works, has in this latest study extended the Commission's analysis of the critical relationships between the global environment, the world economy, and the international order. Together with his eminent colleagues, Pieter Winsemius and Taizo Yakushiji, MacNeill shows that while our global economy and ecology have become completely interlocked, they have remained separate in our institutions, and in the minds of our policymakers. The result is a wide range of domestic and international policies that are accelerating the depletion of Earth's basic ecological (and economic) capital--its rivers, lakes, and oceans, its soils and forests, its flora and fauna, and its ozone shield. These short-sighted policies also threaten us in the next century with a greater rise in global warming and sea level than have occurred in the ten-thousand years since the last ice age. The authors argue that this environmental degradation and resource depletion will be the principal source of interstate conflict in the post-cold war world.Providing a fresh analysis of the issues of global change, and taking into account such recent events as the tidal-shift in East/West relations and the G7 Economic Summit in Houston, Beyond Interdependence shows how industrialized nations can take unilateral action to address environmental threats while improving macroeconomic efficiency and international competitiveness. It also demonstrates how developed nations can negotiate a series of mutually advantageous "bargains" with Eastern European and Third World nations.With its incisive analysis and far-reaching recommendations for policy reform, Beyond Interdependence shows us how we can act urgently but intelligently to advance our common future.

About the Author :
Jim MacNeill is President of MacNeill & Associates, a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Research on Public Policy in Ottawa, and Secretary General of the World Commission on Environment and Development. Pieter Winsemius is Director of McKinsey & Company in Amsterdam and is the former Dutch Minister of Housing, Physical Planning, and Environment. Taizo Yakushiji is Professor of Technology and International Relations at the Graduate School of Policy Science at Saitama University in Japan.

Review :
"Strikes a good balance between general observations and detailed examples. Insight is offered into fundamental relationships--responsible for certain environmental problems--which may provide points of application for realistic solutions."--Environmental Politics "Ideally suited as a sophisticated introductory text to a subject matter of pressing importance in the post-Cold War would. Written with clarity and moral passion, thoroughly researched, sound in judgment. A clarion call to action without being hysterically alarmist."--John Farrenkopf, Northwestern University "Excellent addition to the new "New World Order" literature. Well Written, succinct, easily readable. Focuses on absolutely critical issues."--John W. Outland, University of Richmond "It is an important document which all students of global politics should study and critically assess for both teaching and research purposes."--Dr. A. Shiromas, Hillsdale College "One of the most comprehensive and convincing analyses of the emerging global environmental crisis....The most readable analysis of the subject...The cases that it makes for new forms of international action and institutional reform are insightful and convincing....Highlights the dimensions and import of what will undoubtedly be one of the most crucial issues on he international agenda over coming decades--and probably far beyond. Because of the importance of the subject and the clarity of the book's insights it should be read by all officials and private citizens concerned with one of the great issues of our day--the management of the global ecology."--Mark W. Zacher, Director, Institute of International Relations, University of British Columbia "A brilliant synthesis of the economic and ecological challenge of the next decades....[The authors] make the most powerful case yet for immediate and abrupt political and economic action to stabilize global climate and bring the world into equilibrium....We can only hope that our political leaders are exposed early to this analysis and that the book will travel as widely and be as influential as it deserves to be and as people of the world require."--G.M. Woodwell, The Woods Hole Research Center "One of the most important books I have read in many years....The authors have an informed basis for their conclusions and recommendations that are impossible to ignore."--Journal of Economic Issues "This small book is a stepping stone between arguably two of the world's most significant environmental events....This book is a primer that builds on the awareness created by the World Commission on Environment and Development. It clearly lays out what must be achieved if the Earth Summit is to succeed....The book is definitely worth buying. It provides a good compilation of material proving the thesis that all nations are economically and ecologically linked. The emphasis of the book is on the policy and institutional reforms needed to address the issues."--Borealis: The Magazine for Canadian Parks & Wilderness "A useful and extremely accessible interpretation of the challenges facing those attending UNCED....The accessibility of the text makes it of particular interest to anyone wishing to know more about the practical implications of emerging environmental issues in the political arena."--Environment and Planning A