Reorient: Global Economy in the Asian Age

ReOrient is one the most important works of the last decade in that it not only challenges a dominant perspective in Western social science but it also refutes author's and his colleagues' earlier arguments. Andre Gunder Frank lays down two central arguments in ReOrient which complement one another: 1) the "rise of the West" did not happen due to any internal factors but was predicated on American silver and Asian market; 2) Asia in general and China in particular was the center of global economy until the 19th century. Thus, Frank aims to destroy the bases of Eurocentrism in social sciences. Frank argues that Europe was not an important figure in world economy until the 19th century. Asians were more productive and competitive than Europeans and Asia remained at the center of global economy until the industrial revolution. Throughout this period European nations constantly had trade deficits with Asian nations, particularly with China and India. An indication of this European trade deficit was that gold and silver were never less than two-thirds of total European exports (p. 74). New World silver was for this reason very important for the Europeans; it helped them cover their trade deficits with the Asians and become a more active player in Asian economy. Thus, Frank contends that American silver bought Europeans a ticket in the "Asian productive and commercial train, which was steaming ahead on an already well-established track," (p. 115). One of Frank's original arguments regarding the superiority of the Chinese economy vis-à-vis the European economy in the 15th to 19th century is the different effects on these economies of the influx of New World silver. To make his case, Frank utilizes Fisher's famous quantity-price equation which maintains that an increase in the amount of money in an economy will result in increases in the prices of goods unless it is matched by an increase in quantity of goods (p. 154). Frank then demonstrates that whereas American silver caused substantial increases in the price of goods in Europe, it did not have any remarkable inflationary effect on the Chinese economy. For this to happen, Chinese production must have increased parallel to the increase in the amount of silver. This means that the massive arrival of new American money stimulated production more in Asia than in Europe (pp. 157-8). According to Frank, this situation attests to higher productivity of Chinese economy compared to European economy. Thus, Frank refutes the orthodox Eurocentric "hoarding" argument on China which assumed that the Chinese used American/European silver by and large in non-economic and unproductive ways, primarily as jewelry: "Asians earned this money first because they were more industrious and more productive to begin with; the additional money then generated still more Asian demand and production," (p. 177). Another historical fact Frank uses to demonstrate the superiority of Asian economies over European econom

Since Kondratieff (1970s) discovered economy was affected by up and down cycles that could be traced back across centuries, historians studied the structure of economy at different stages of World history, the succession of hegemonic states in the West, why a certain state became the hegemon and why others failed, etc... Apparently innocent, those questions concerned preservation of US supremacy, how to maintain and prolonge it, who were the possible challengers and when and where could a clash emerge. The revolution brought by Franck is to destroy Eurocentric views adopted since 1800 bit by bit to reveal how the economic system has been working since the last 2000 years and especially the last 500 years. What it shows is that the global economy was centered around China until 1800 AD, that the main economic players of those 2 millennia were China, India and Japan assisted by Russia, Persia and the Ottoman Empire. The West was only minor and it is only because we achieved the conquest of the Americas and the exploitation of its silver deposits that we obtained a ticket in the global economy and gradually rose to proeminence. Britain was global hegemon from 1800 until 1914, displaced by the United States from then until present. Some forecasts predict that Chinese economy could outpace the US between 2013 and 2049.Author detailed and argumented study is confirmed by current reality. 4 of the 5 largest foreign currency deposits are already in East Asia: Japan, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong. While US current account balance is at -$393 billion and EU current account balance is at -$14 billion, Japan current account balance is at $128 billion, Russia is at $30 billion and China is at $17 billion. Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia are all in positive waters. Most strategic technological monopolies are in Japan (Blindside from Eanmon Fingleton, 1995). 9 of the 10 largest harbours in the World are East Asian, leaving Rotterdam as the single exception. 70% of the World software production is in India. Most of the largest national GDP annual growth are in East, South-East and South Asia, making US robust growth of the last decade look pale and Europe's 2-3% definitly meaky. The book is fundamental because it explains the basics of this Asian economic advantage, how post-1800 Westerners could delude themselves while their ancestors (Adam Smith being the most famous) dedicated pages of study to record and analyse why Asia was so superior to the West in almost everything and why the West has risen and is maybe falling beyond again (Only a blind could not notice that 1/3 of all US supermarket shelves are filled with Made in China or that the content of high-tech products is mostly Made in Japan, Taiwan or Korea and that Pokemon, Nintedno and Playstation are kids favorite).An essential book for anyone to understand the global economy, to have an acurate look on current situation and evaluate the decisions made in the West to face Asian retur

THIS IS THE CITATION BY THE WHA BOOK AWARD COMMITTEE, which is posted here but NOT WRITTEN BY THE BOOK'S AUTHOR WORLD HISTORY ASSOCIATION FIRST BOOK PRIZE 1999:This book has just won the 1999 World History Association Book Award, which was presented at the WHA conference in Victoria, BC, Canada, on June 26, 1999. The choice was unanimous, because we regard this book as being in a class by itself. Its breadth of vision, courageous analysis and apt warning not to let ethnocentrism deter historians from pursuing a global perspective on the past, all make Gunder Frank's book exceptional and a must read for historians, teachers and students of world history. The book argues that European hegemony in the modern era did not really emerge until the nineteenth century, and that before that Europe was a rather marginal player in the Eurasian world economy that was centered on China. Only the windfalls of American silver and the Atlantic slave trade enabled Europe to buy its way into the existing world economy and industrialize. Its holistic approach forces historians to look beyond Europe to understand the making of the modern world, and Frank's attention to historiographic issues is outstanding. David A. Chappell, Book Review Editor JOURNAL OF WORLD HISTORY

This book has just won the 1999 World History Association Book Award, which was presented at the WHA conference in Victoria, BC, Canada, on June 26, 1999. The choice was unanimous, because we regard this book as being in a class by itself. Its breadth of vision, courageous analysis and apt warning not to let ethnocentrism deter historians from pursuing a global perspective on the past, all make Gunder Frank's book exceptional and a must read for historians, teachers and students of world history. The book argues that European hegemony in the modern era did not really emerge until the nineteenth century, and that before that Europe was a rather marginal player in the Eurasian world economy that was centered on China. Only the windfalls of American silver and the Atlantic slave trade enabled Europe to buy its way into the existing world economy and industrialize. Its holistic approach forces historians to look beyond Europe to understand the making of the modern world, and Frank's attention to historiographic issues is outstanding. Sincerely, David A. Chappell, Book Review Editor, Journal of World History.

Andre Gunder Frank challenges us to thoroughly reevaluate our understanding of the world economy between 1400-1800, and provides us with enough evidence to command a reorientation of our perspective on this period. Gunder Frank's ReOrient will prove an instant classic, rating among those great books that come along once in a generation, such as with Arnold Toynbee's The Study of History, William McNeill's The Rise of the West, and Immanuel Wallerstein's The World-System as seminal works in world history. For scholars researching the onset of industrialism and the West's eventual dominance, they will be introduced to a whole new set of questions found in neither Marx nor Weber that require exploration if they are to plumb the depths of this historical terrain. Political Science, History, Sociology, and Economics professors should place ReOrient at the center of their class reading lists for courses in political economy and world history. Secondary Education teachers will find their world history teaching revolutionized by ReOrient's important thesis on the centrality of Asia in the global economy between 1400-1800. This book will give world history a research agenda for a generation. Original, contentious, challenging, yet accessible, this is Frank at his best. Agree or disagree with his thesis, if you don't know it, for the next generation you won't be able to knowledgeably discuss world history. Don't miss it!