I'm going to begin my summary where the author begins his argument, in reference to that best-selling apologetic for neoliberal economic policies entitled The Lexus and the Olive Tree, by Thomas Friedman. And I'm going to be a little quicker to the point: Thomas Friedman is a shithead. His grand vision of the world and necessary economic policies for increasing global standards of living are absurd and without any historical validity. I am perpetually saddened that his nonsense is put into print.
No country that is currently an economic powerhouse (even and especially our own, despite the current pangs of an unchecked and absurd credit-based economy) actually built itself up through conventional free trade policies. They all used clusters of protectionist policies and import-substitution. That we have for years advised, even forced poorer nations to do otherwise is a sign of either ideological idiocy or blatant hypocrisy,
Chang is a member of the Economics faculty at Cambridge, who studied under Joesph Stiglitz. He isn't an activist, he isn't an anarchist, he isn't a Chavezista. He is something far more valuable and far rarer, an honest intellectual who grounds his commentary on real history rather than speculative beliefs tailored to upper middle class Americans.
This is one of the best books I've seen actually detailing the failures of free-trade policies for global development, and the contradictions between neoliberal idealizations and historical reality. If you want to understand the real global economic playing field from an incredibly reputable source, then read this book.