Trade Wars Are Class Wars: How Rising Inequality Distorts the Global Economy and Threatens International Peace

Written by Michael Pettis and Matthew C. Klein

Narrated by Bob Souer

A provocative look at how today's trade conflicts are caused by governments promoting the interests of elites at the expense of workers.



Trade disputes are usually understood as conflicts between countries with competing national interests, but as Matthew C. Klein and Michael Pettis show in this book, they are often the unexpected result of domestic political choices to serve the interests of the rich at the expense of workers and ordinary retirees.



Klein and Pettis trace the origins of today's trade wars to decisions made by politicians and business leaders in China, Europe, and the United States over the past thirty years. Across the world, the rich have prospered while workers can no longer afford to buy what they produce, have lost their jobs, or have been forced into higher levels of debt. In this thought-provoking challenge to mainstream views, the authors provide a cohesive narrative that shows how the class wars of rising inequality are a threat to the global economy and international peace—and what we can do about it.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: May 19, 2020
• ISBN: 9781494546588

Reviews for Trade Wars Are Class Wars

[rajivc_18 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Overall, this is an excellent book. While I argued with myself over whether this should get a four-star or a five-star, I finally decided on a five.

Matthew Klein has argued his case persuasively, and well. On the whole, I do not believe that this is an easy book to read, for the lay reader. Apart from this, I would have liked to have seen some charts to demonstrate the increase in inequality.

Apart from this quibble, I agree with the premise of the book, as well as the argumentation. While I can't speak for other countries, I have seen the rise in inequality in India, and this is shocking.

Rising inequality is a problem, and I believe that this will cause a lot of instability in the years to come. Or, we will end up in a Big Brother kind of situation.

Read the book - not for my prediction - but for an extremely well-reasoned argument on the issues of the day.