In the first edition, the themes of hope, optimism, and progress of neoliberalism were examined in Asia and America. The second edition, Globalization: Power, Authority, and Legitimacy in Late Modernity, analyses the new pessimism that has descended on the globalised world. The America that was once the bastion of hope, optimism and progress is now showing clear signs of a superpower in decline. The first sign of the American decline since 1941 in Pearl Harbour was the destruction of the World Trade Center in New York City on 11 September 2001. The other signs are the Vietnamisation of Iraq, a nuclear stand-off with North Korea, increasing trade imbalances with China and India, a stalemate with terrorists in Afghanistan, the challenge of European protectionism, a belligerent politics in the Middle East, overt American dependence on fossil fuels, and the mushrooming of various subprime crises into an escalating global recession. This second edition incorporates the latest developments in terms of culture, wealth and terrorism around the world and provides possible solutions to salvage the American Dream.
