M. Pettis and M. C. Klein, "Trade Wars Are Class Wars: How Rising Inequality Distorts the Global Economy and Threatens International Peace" (Yale UP, 2020)

Asian Review of Books · Oct 21, 2020 · 43m

Trade imbalances have long been a sticking point in international economics, most recently between the United States and China. The conversation about persistent trade imbalances tends to take on a moral dimension, whether praising German thrift, criticising American profligacy, or accusing China of nefarious behaviour.

In Trade Wars Are Class Wars: How Rising Inequality Distorts the Global Economy and Threatens International Peace (Yale University Press, 2020), Michael Pettis and Matthew C. Klein explain the source of persistent trade imbalances with this simple thesis: “Rising inequality…