by William F. Felice (Get the Book)Felice's goal is to jar readers out of defeatism toward the daunting challenge of poverty in the developing world by presenting an optimistic roadmap for reforming the global economy. This roadmap takes the form of a "New Deal," a series of policy suggestions designed to alleviate poverty and balance economic, environmental, ethnic, gender, and other concerns. International institutions are central components of the major structural changes embodied in the Deal, with Felice (Eckerd College) suggesting both the enhancement of existing bodies and the creation of new ones. Some readers will welcome the author's impassioned calls for reform, while others will find them overly optimistic. For instance, the argument that states would serve themselves by placing more emphasis on fundamental economic and social human rights is easy to accept in the abstract but will be dismissed by political realists or students of collective action problems. The central value of the volume is its discussion of the variety of existing institutions and laws that potentially can be harnessed to address global poverty. --Choice
