Soros inks a new tome

George Soros has made a mint running hedge funds. Respectability as an author has been harder to come by.

Soros’ first books , The Alchemy of Finance and The Crisis of Global Capitalism , were panned by many critics, who found the thinking obtuse or derivative. Undaunted, the famed financier this month publishes a new tome: George Soros on Globalization. Much of the material , the problems with global capitalism and the slow progress on reforming international financial institutions , will be familiar to Soros’ readers. But this time Soros goes one step further and outlines what he considers to be the missing component in the system: a new way to supply international aid. In his scheme, rich countries would donate a new currency, issued by the International Monetary Fund, to poor countries. The plan would, of course, require U.S. approval, and the Bush administration has steadfastly rejected European requests that it increase international aid. Soros wanted his proposal to be the centerpiece of this month’s high-level International Conference on Financing for Development. But last month, at a conference at the Institute for International Economics, Soros’ suggestion was brushed aside by Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill. Soros couldn’t have expected a warm response. In the book’s preface he writes that his “proposal will require the support of the U.S. to be implemented, yet my conclusion is highly critical of the Bush administration’s unilateral, hegemonic approach to international affairs. In the end, I decided to put my trust in the public that I seek to mobilize.” Don’t hold your breath.

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