"Future Positive captures the essence of the dilemmas of current economic relations between rich and poor." -Thabo Mbeki, President of South Africa
"At last, a hard-headed but soft-hearted vision of global cooperation-respecting our differences, avoiding top-down ‘solutions,’ expanding the number of voices at the table, yet moving forward together on clear goals. This is an optimistic book at a time when the global pessimists rule the intellectual roost." -Robert B. Reich, former US Secretary of Labor
Published to worldwide acclaim in 1999, Future Positive has helped to revolutionize our thinking about international cooperation. This revised edition updates the arguments of the book to take account of the events of September 11, 2001, and offers an optimistic counterblast to unilateralism.
A refreshingly optimistic assessment of the prospects for a new international order-a direct counter-blast to the doom-mongering views of writers and politicians whose voices dominate the debate. For those in search of politics and economics that are more humane and less destructive, this book will be an inspiration and an essential, practical resource.

"Future Positive captures the essence of the dilemmas of current economic relations between rich and poor." -- Thabo Mbeki, President of South Africa

"Future Positive is a remarkably coherent account of complex and diverse issues." -- London Review of Books

"An optimistic vision of how to get to a future where people co-operate universally to end injustice, poverty and conflict. Edwards deserves to be read widely." -- Times Higher Education Supplement

"...a careful and realistic portrait of...the potential role of cooperation in domesticating the competitive ethos of the global economy. It is an important thesis on behalf of institutional cooperation and deserves a reading." -- Los Angeles Times

"At last, a hard-headed but soft-hearted vision of global cooperation -- respecting our differences, avoiding top-down ‘solutions,’ expanding the number of voices at the table, yet moving forward together on clear goals. This is an optimistic book at a time when the global pessimists rule the intellectual roost." -- Robert B. Reich, former US Secretary of Labor

"...a potent blend of vision and pragmatism. Michael Edwards challenges all of us -- NGOs, governments, corporations and consumers -- to move beyond our conventional ways of thinking and join together to create a just and responsible international system." -- Peter Bell, President of CARE and Co-Chair of the Inter-American Dialogue

"Michael Edwards’ refreshingly optimistic and readable book calls for widespread reform of an international system which interferes too much in the detail of other people’s lives and not enough when it really matters. His approach is wholehearted and convincing. Edwards combines his breadth of vision with a realistic focus on building constituencies for change." -- Foreign Policy Review

"In Future Positive, Michael Edwards writes after September 11th, that we have to tell each other a new story -- moral, spiritual, prudential -- whose aim is to teach the lesson of mutual reliance." -- New Statesman

"This book belongs to a small minority of analyses of world politics that are inspired yet modest, deep yet readable." -- International Journal of Urban and Regional Research

"A timely contribution which raises important questions for anyone involved in teaching, writing, thinking about, or even 'doing', development." -- Journal of International Development

Introduction: The Co-operative Imperative
A Brief History of International Co-operation
How Do Countries Grow? It's Not Size that Matters
The Record of Humanitarian Intervention
Sticks, Carrots and Room to Manoeuvre
A New Formula for Foreign Aid
Humanising Capitalism
The Future of Global Governance
The Rise and Fall of Third-World Charity
Institutional Reform and Personal Revolution
How Can I Help? Bibliography, Index