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Books > The Best Democracy Money Can Buy: An Investigative Reporter Exposes the Truth About Globalization, Corporate Cons, and High Finance Fraudsters

The Best Democracy Money Can Buy: An Investigative Reporter Exposes the Truth About Globalization, Corporate Cons, and High Finance Fraudsters
Release Date	:	27 March, 2003
Author	:	Greg Palast
Publisher	:	Constable & Robinson
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The Best Democracy Money Can Buy contains Greg Palast's greatest hits, and that means some of the biggest stories and scandals in recent memory. Palast is an internationally recognised expert on the control of corporate power who previously worked with labour unions and consumer groups in the US, South America and Europe investigating corporate corruption. Since then he has become a journalist whose investigative reports for the BBC and The Observer are all but banned in the US but that nevertheless pick up awards by the dozen.

The book opens with his report on how Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris allegedly stole the 2000 election for Bush by illegally removing African-Americans from voter rolls. This take-no-prisoners opener sets the tone for much of the book. It is followed by his report claiming that Bush killed off the FBI's investigation of the bin Laden family prior to the September 11 attack-–for which he was awarded the California State University's Project Censored Prize for a report too hot for US media.

The heart of the book is about the institutionalised economic criminal activity that is part and parcel of the politics of globalisation. Palast portrays the IMF, the World Bank and the assorted group of agencies as institutions that "dream up, then dictate, the terms of the new international economics" to create what he describes as "the Golden Straitjacket" of globalisation. He produces vivid case studies from across the globe to challenge even the most paranoid of conspiracy theorists. On the whole, the book claims to show that economic "assistance plans" presided over by these institutions amount to a (so far) guaranteed sentence of economic damnation.

As much has been published elsewhere; there is little new here and Palast's strident style can sometimes obscure the finer points of analyses. But this is an in-your-face book with a powerful call to action that will outrage and energise many of its readers. --Larry Brown

Essential reading for the open-minded

Palast's book is timely as the US/UK have invaded Iraq and subsquently won the war.
The book starts off looking at the role Katherine harris played in securing Govenor Bush's dubious election to the White House, and the subsquent removal of thousands of Black voters (who normally vote Democrat) on the grounds they all had criminal convictions - Palast finds out the overwhelimg majority had no criminal record or those who had had their right to vote restored by the courts.
Palast moves on to how the Bush family suppressed investigation in the Bin Laden family who were living in the States ( also see Dreaming War by Gore Vidal for more on this). And how Us defences were left stood down in the light of intelligence indicating a forthcoming terrorist attack!
Then how the corrupt IMF/World Bank/WTO dictate economic policy for the third world with devasting consqences all in aid of allowing the US a free run economically in these countries such as Argentina.
Palast sets up a sting to trap certain lobbyists who claim they can gain access to ministers in Blair's first government.
Palast writing is witty acerbic and devasting highlighting how far corporations will go to hold on to power and disempower the people. Not surprising you may say but it's means they go about that's frightening.

Brilliant....but scary !

Greg Palast manages to expose the total lack of principles and the total domination of self-interest within the world of politics and big business (the bigger the better it seems !).

The scary things are:-

1. Why do these people get away with it ?
2. If they are this cynical in their methods, what will stop them doing whatever they want in future without retribution ?
3. If Palast is being discredited, why have they never taken him to court over these stories ? (i think I know that one !).

Read this book to open your eyes ! Vote accordingly !

Truly brilliant

This is surely one of the best politics/current affairs books published in recent memory. Palast's investigations are incredibly comprehensive and well-researched - the evidence is rigorously documented, some of it previously largely unreported and revealing some shocking facts about the true intentions and agendas of the rich and powerful. Leaked documents from the WTO, IMF and World Bank reveal that the disastrous consequences of their economic plans for countries like Bolivia and Argentina are far from misguided accidents, but are anticipated in detail - even including the mass riots and protests that inevitably result.

Throughout the book there are strongly present and recurring themes - it is astonishing to find, for example, quite how many pies Enron and its subsidiaries had their fingers in, or quite how extensive the media's manipulation of material potentially embarrassing for corporations and their friends is. Anyone who liked Captive State or Stupid White Men will love this book - it has all the investigative skill and exposition of the former (but with even more depth) and all the humour (and more) of the latter. If you read only one book this year make it this one.