''Die Globalisierungsfalle: Der Angriff auf Demokratie und Wohlstand'' is a
1996 non-fiction book by
Hans-Peter Martin (born 1957 in
Bregenz
Bregenz (; gsw, label= Vorarlbergian, Breagaz ) is the capital of Vorarlberg, the westernmost state of Austria. The city lies on the east and southeast shores of Lake Constance, the third-largest freshwater lake in Central Europe, between Switze ...
,
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
), and Harald Schumann (born 1957 in
Kassel,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
), that describes possible implications of current trends in
globalization
Globalization, or globalisation (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), see spelling differences), is the process of foreign relation ...
. It was published in English as ''The Global Trap: Globalization and the Assault on Democracy and Prosperity'' in
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...
. At this time, both authors were editors of the news magazine ''
Der Spiegel''. From 1999 to 2014, Hans-Peter Martin, who is stated in the book to be one of just three journalists to be allowed to take part in all activities at the Fairmont convention, was a member of the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
.
The book was a best-seller in the authors‘ native Austria and Germany and went on to be a worldwide bestseller with over 800,000 copies sold and translated into 27 languages.
In particular, the book is known for defining a possible "20/80 society". In this possible society of the 21st century, 20 percent of the working age population will be enough to keep the world economy going. The other 80 percent live on some form of
welfare
Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifical ...
and are entertained with a concept called "
tittytainment", which aims at keeping the 80 percent of frustrated citizens happy with a mixture of deadeningly predictable,
lowest common denominator
In mathematics, the lowest common denominator or least common denominator (abbreviated LCD) is the lowest common multiple of the denominators of a set of fractions. It simplifies adding, subtracting, and comparing fractions.
Description
The low ...
entertainment for the soul and nourishment for the body.
Contents
The book deals mainly with the effects of globalization. It describes a growing social divide as a result of "delimitation" of the economy and a loss of political control by the state over the economic development, which is increasingly controlled by global corporations. The authors warn of a so-called "20-to-80-society". They describe how a global 80:20 distribution already exists in many aspects, and illustrate possible economic, social and political consequences of free trade and deregulated financial markets.
In the beginning, they describe how at a conference at the invitation of
Mikhail Gorbachev with 500 leading politicians, business leaders and academics from all continents from September 27 - October 1, 1995 at the
Fairmont Hotel in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
, the term "one-fifth-society" arose. The authors describe an increase in productivity caused by the decrease in the amount of work, so this could be done by one-fifth of the global labor force and leave four-fifths of the working age people out of work. The authors predict huge number of unemployed,
perhaps finding themselves in low-paid voluntary community services to boost their morale.
See also
*
Pareto principle, 80:20 principle in practically all aspects of human lives was also discovered a century before this by the economist Vilfredo Pareto
*
Criticisms of globalization
* ''
Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology''
* ''
The Future and Its Enemies''
*
Bread and circuses
"Bread and circuses" (or bread and games; from Latin: ''panem et circenses'') is a metonymic phrase referring to superficial appeasement. It is attributed to Juvenal, a Roman poet active in the late first and early second century CE, and is used ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Global Trap
1996 non-fiction books
Philosophy books
Books about globalization
Rowohlt Verlag books