Us vs. Them

The Failure of Globalism

By: Ian Bremmer

Narrated by: Willis Sparks

New York Times bestseller

"A cogent analysis of the concurrent Trump/Brexit phenomena and a dire warning about what lies ahead...a lucid, provocative book." --Kirkus Reviews

Those who championed globalization once promised a world of winners, one in which free trade would lift all the world's boats, and extremes of left and right would give way to universally embraced liberal values. The past few years have shattered this fantasy, as those who've paid the price for globalism's gains have turned to populist and nationalist politicians to express fury at the political, media, and corporate elites they blame for their losses.

The United States elected an anti-immigration, protectionist president who promised to "put America first" and turned a cold eye on alliances and treaties. Across Europe, anti-establishment political parties made gains not seen in decades. The United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union.

And as Ian Bremmer shows in this eye-opening book, populism is still spreading. Globalism creates plenty of both winners and losers, and those who've missed out want to set things right. They've seen their futures made obsolete. They hear new voices and see new faces all about them. They feel their cultures shift. They don't trust what they read. They've begun to understand the world as a battle for the future that pits "us" vs. "them."

Bremmer points to the next wave of global populism, one that hits emerging nations before they have fully emerged. As in Europe and America, citizens want security and prosperity, and they're becoming increasingly frustrated with governments that aren't capable of providing them. To protect themselves, many government will build walls, both digital and physical. For instance...
* In Brazil and other fast-developing countries, civilians riot when higher expectations for better government aren't being met--the downside of their own success in lifting millions from poverty.
* In Mexico, South Africa, Turkey, Indonesia, Egypt and other emerging states, frustration with government is on the rise and political battle lines are being drawn.
* In China, where awareness of inequality is on the rise, the state is building a system to use the data that citizens generate to contain future demand for change
* In India, the tools now used to provide essential services for people who've never had them can one day be used to tighten the ruling party's grip on power.

When human beings feel threatened, we identify the danger and look for allies. We use the enemy, real or imagined, to rally friends to our side. This book is about the ways in which people will define these threats as fights for survival. It's about the walls governments will build to protect insiders from outsiders and the state from its people.

And it's about what we can do about it.

Critic reviews

“Required reading to help repair a world in pieces and build a world at peace.”
— António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General

“The best book yet on the waves Donald Trump rode to power. Ian Bremmer is right that rage and scorn are not plans. He provides good practical ideas for what can be done.”
—Lawrence Summers, professor at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and former director or the National Economic Council

“Few can beat Ian Bremmer in taking the pulse on the health of nations and the world. Here he dives into the divisions and disputes of the wave of protests and populism that gave the US Donald Trump and Europe Brexit.”
—Carl Bildt, co-chair of European Council on Foreign Relations

“My favorite thinker on geopolitics offers a masterful analysis of why globalism crashed and populism has soared. This book won’t just help you predict the future of nations; it will play a role in shaping that future.”
—Adam Grant, author of Give and Take, Originals, and Option B with Sheryl Sandberg

“A crisp and compelling anatomy of present political ills across many countries. Bremmer’s discussion of global approaches to revising the social contract between government and citizen offers a welcome ray of light.”
—Anne-Marie Slaughter, president & CEO of New America

“Global politics is a jungle today. Thank goodness Ian Bremmer can be your guide.”
—David Miliband, president and CEO of the International Rescue Committee

"Once again, Ian Bremmer provides a striking preview of tomorrow's top stories. A timely warning, but also a source of hope, Us vs. Them is required reading for those worried about our world’s future."
—Nouriel Roubini, author of Crisis Economics; professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business; chairman of Roubini Macro Associates

“Ian Bremmer is provocative, controversial, and always intelligent about the state of our world, which he knows so well!”
—Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)

An insight into the dysfunctional Progressive mind

Armed with a bevy if facts and statistics, the author manages to pick and choose those which support his particular opinion, rather than allowing logical interpretation of the facts guide his opinion. It’s classic Progressive-style thinking (or lack thereof). Also cited are “evidence” for concepts which have been discredited by more careful or thorough research.
The author is correct about one thing — Trump voters should not be taken for granted, and the reasons they voted for Trump need to be understood. He just misses the mark, widely, in trying to explain those voters.

Worth your money

Ian Bremmer shows you how greater polarization is creating rifts between societies all over the world. He focuses in particular on the developing world, and the challenges these countries are likely to face in wake of automatization in the work place. In general this is a very well-written book, and it has a good narrator. I can't say I agree with absolutely all his suggested means of rewriting the social contract (such as universal income), but I do agree with overall objective of bridging the gap between the "winners" and "losers" of globalization. If there's one thing I missed in this book, it must have been an assessment of "UsVsThem" within European states - particularly when it comes to separatism. For instance, I believe that Bremmer's main argument could be applied to explaining the most recent surge of support for Scottish and Catalonian separatism.

Amazing analysis and clear view of a scary but fixable future

The full analysis of the 12 countries covered in this book, is profound and disturbingly real... the social phenomenon that is parallel in all casas and different approaches gives the reader a course of action on how to act and live in a fast progressive society on which we are boing set up by our own intelligence to become more disposable and a society in which the human being needs to rethink its role....

Can’t quibble with the diagnosis but wish there were some treatment options

The book reads like a fair assessment of what is going on around the world with rising populism, a rejection of globalization and turning back on multi national organizations and cooperation. But that’s where it feels like this book stops while it should continue. It does a fair job of diagnosing current problems, and predicting the difficulties that are likely to come as these trends continue. But by not prescribing ways that humanity can avoid the that future state, the book becomes a pessimistic treatise on today’s issues that left me depressed about the next 10-20 years.

Good book with a big blind spot

Felt it was a very well written, concise overview of Bremmer's highly informed worldview. Excellent narration also. Very worthwhile for anyone interested in what's going on around the world in 2018 and what is likely to start happening soon. Not sure why so many struggle to grasp the insights he brings to bear. They're so straightforward when you see them!

That said, I think the exclusion of the militarism that is helping precipitate the current situation should have been addressed. Makes me significantly less enthusiastic about recommending it.