Author Archive:
Michael Brophy
Steering clear of the missionaries
Not every reader of Alliance will be familiar with the Ryder Cup, which is a golf match between the best 12 golfers in Europe and America. For years America won it. They had the best …
Europe in the World?
‘Do you think it’s important that Europe should have a stronger voice in the world?’ This was one of the questions 60 European foundations were asked last summer. The survey was the first phase of …
Editorial – June 2001
From August this year, Alliance will be leaving CAF to form part of a small, newly established non-profit organization. I have therefore decided to use this opportunity to reflect on the future opportunities for Alliance. …
The Mystery of Capital: Why capitalism triumphs in the West and fails everywhere else by Hernando de Soto
Not long ago I attended a breakfast with Jim Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank. There were many others present to hear the great man say the things the great man has been saying for …
On the Edge: Living with global capitalism – edited by Will Hutton and Anthony Giddens
On the Edge is a collection of essays on the subject of globalization. It takes its title from a chapter written by Vandana Shiva which makes the ecological case for controlling global capitalism with characteristic …
Globalization – good or bad?
I write this on my way to Washington. Yesterday the Sunday papers reported that Bill Gates had lost £11 billion in the Nasdaq share price collapse. Today they report four tons of manure have been …
The Devil’s Advocate by John Humphrys Hutchinson
John Humphrys is well known in my country as a fearless, argumentative journalist and interviewer. Surprisingly, his morning radio programme is still the country’s main forum for political debate rather than TV. He puts the …
Civil Society: The underpinnings of American democracy by Brian O’Connell (Foreword by John W Gardner)
There are dangers in reviewing a book written by one who at least hitherto has been a friend, for to be good reading reviews come down on one side or the other. What I can …
Future Positive: International co-operation in the 21st century by Michael Edwards
Future Positive’s book-ends are utopian. The preface talks about ‘my original journey’, ‘helping each other lead more fulfilling lives’ and ‘abolishing global poverty’. The conclusion talks of ‘a global compact for the future supported by …
The Crisis of Global Capitalism: Open society endangered by George Soros
We get off to a brisk start with The Crisis of Global Capitalism: ‘The global capitalist system which has been responsible for the remarkable prosperity of this country [the USA] in the last decade is …
