The Post-American World 2.0

By: Fareed Zakaria

Narrated by: Fareed Zakaria

Length: 9 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

Here is the New York Times and international best seller, revised and expanded with a new afterword. This is the essential update of Fareed Zakaria's analysis about America and its shifting position in world affairs.

The Post-American World pointed to the rise of the rest - the growth of countries China, India, Brazil, and others - as the great story of our time, the story that will undoubtedly shape the future of global power. Since its publication, the trends Zakaria identified have proceeded faster than anyone could have anticipated. The 2008 financial crisis turned the world upside down, stalling the United States and other advanced economies. Meanwhile, emerging markets have surged ahead, coupling their economic growth with pride, nationalism, and a determination to shape their own future.

In this new edition, Zakaria makes sense of this rapidly changing landscape. With his customary lucidity, insight, and imagination, he draws on lessons from the two great power shifts of the past 500 years - the rise of the Western world and the rise of the United States - to tell us what we can expect from the third shift, the rise of the rest.

The great challenge for Britain was economic decline. The challenge for America now is political decline, for as others have grown in importance, the central role of the United States, especially in the ascendant emerging markets, has already begun to shrink. As Zakaria eloquently argues, Washington needs to begin a serious transformation of its global strategy, moving from its traditional role of dominating hegemon to that of a more pragmatic, honest broker. It must seek to share power, create coalitions, build legitimacy, and define the global agenda - all formidable tasks.

None of this will be easy for the greatest power the world has ever known - the only power that for so long has really mattered. America stands at a crossroads. In a new global era in which the United States no longer dominates the worldwide economy, orchestrates geopolitics, or overwhelms cultures, can the nation continue to thrive?

©2008 Fareed Zakaria (P)2011 Simon & Schuster

Informative, fascinating, well constructed

Would you listen to The Post-American World 2.0 again? Why?

Yes, this is a repeat listen, there's so much information and it also gets you thinking about headlines as they come, creating a more integrated, broad worldview.

What does Fareed Zakaria bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I might be projecting, but hearing his voice makes me feel more deliberative about its assertions and not as prone to taking it in like a textbook.

Some of the views are out of date.

For me a bit to much pro America. I was expecting more info about China, India and EU.

Expands your view of the US's context

If you could sum up The Post-American World 2.0 in three words, what would they be?

America's future explained.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Apparently Fareed Zakaria's favorite character on the world stage is BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China). I'm starting to root for China after reading this book.

What about Fareed Zakaria’s performance did you like?

He opened up a new perspective of where the US is in relation to the rest of the world, and made me look at our economic status in a more optimistic yet critical way.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Didn't make me laugh or cry. But it made me think.

Any additional comments?

Read this with an open mind from the beginning and you'll start seeing the signs of him being right all around you.

wonderfully done! very informative.

a great book on world economics. Gives a brilliant history of past world markets, and gives a picture of the future. Highly recommend!

love Fareed's insights

great update although not as mind blowing as his first book. maybe he just did that good a job the first time around

By far the most informative book I’ve ever read (listened to).

The post American world is super Informative, exciting, none biased, constructive, eye opening and mind blowing.

Important information

I think the 2.0 reading is really the 1.0 with a few 2.0 sections pasted in. You can tell in the audio when mid thought the sound gets noticeably louder or softer.

Great book with important insights into how the world works. It is thick "listening" at times so you'll need to pay attention.

Great listen

Zakaria is incredibly insightful about what's happening in the world and how it affects us all. The writing is great. The book keeps you engaged despite covering some pretty dense material.

NATIONAL ARROGANCE

Fareed Zakaria suggests America suffers from national arrogance more than decline. Zakaria argues that the American Dream is not dead but is being hollowed out by society’s inequity and political grid-lock. Zakaria acknowledges America is the richest and most powerful nation on earth. However, like former world hegemons, America is trending toward hubris. Zakaria suggests America must come to grips with the economic, political, and social circumstances of the modern world; i.e. America needs to replace today’s hegemonic arrogance with international collaboration.

Jobs are being lost and many American citizens will be out of work for some period of time. However, America has more resources than any other nation on earth. New jobs can be created based on cleaning the environment, creating new sources of energy, caring for the sick and elderly, and working for non-profits that provide the necessities of life-like medical service, food, and housing. Employees are needed by non-profit hospitals, Habitat for Humanity, Salvation Army, Red Cross, Goodwill, and other eleemosynary organizations. As Peter Drucker once noted, “Profit is not the purpose of business and the concept of profit maximization is not only meaningless, but dangerous.”

America and all post-industrial nations depend on a world economy. Building a wall between countries, unilaterally invading sovereign nations, creating tariffs on foreign goods, denying corporations’ rights to relocate are all examples of bad ideas in the modern world. A do-nothing government is a formula for American failure. There is no room for any nation’s hegemonic arrogance in world affairs. Equally, there is no justification for standing still on American’ domestic issues.

Still relevant in 2018

The only section that felt outdated was about terrorism. Otherwise I learned an amazing amount about the world and economics.