In Common Wealth, Jeffrey D. Sachs—one of the world’s most respected economists and the author of The New York Times bestseller The End of Poverty— offers an urgent assessment of the environmental degradation, rapid population growth, and extreme poverty that threaten global peace and prosperity. Through crystalline examination of hard facts, Sachs predicts the cascade of crises that awaits this crowded planet—and presents a program of sustainable development and international cooperation that will correct this dangerous course. Few luminaries anywhere on the planet are as schooled in this daunting subject as Sachs, and this is the vital product of his experience and wisdom.
Common Wealth
Foreword by Edward O. Wilson
Part One. New Economics for the Twenty-first Century
1. Common Challenges, Common Wealth
2. Our Crowded Planet
Part Two. Environmental Sustainability
3. The Anthropocene
4. Global Solutions to Climate Change
5. Securing Our Water Needs
6. A Home for All Species
Part Three. The Demographic Challenge
7. Global Population Dynamics
8. Completing the Demographic Transition
Part Four. Prosperity for All
9. The Strategy of Economic Development
10. Ending Poverty Traps
11. Economic Security in a Changing World
Part Five. Global Problem Solving
12. Rethinking Foreign Policy
13. Achieving Global Goals
14. The Power of One
Acknowledgments
List of Acronyms
Notes
References
Index
“Lucid, quietly urgent, and relentlessly logical... this is Bigthink with a capital B.”
—The New York Times Book Review
“Jeffrey Sachs never disappoints. . . . This book is an excellent resource for all those who want to understand what changes the twenty-first century may bring.”
—Kofi Annan, winner of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize and former secretary-general of the United Nations
“Common Wealth explains the most basic economic reckoning that the world faces.”
—Al Gore, winner of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize and former vice president of the United States
