Keane explores the contradictory arguments and traces the historical origins, contemporary meanings and political potential of globalization. Defending the idea of a global civil society, Keane stresses the need for new democratic ways of living and demonstrates how it is linked with such developments as turbocapitalism, social movements and the political institutions of "cosmocracy." Keane's provocative reflections draw upon a variety of scholarly sources and offer a fresh perspective on contemporary political thinking and new global problems.

The debate about globalization has been highly polarized, until now. Mandle argues that opponents fail to understand that broadly-based benefits for the poor are latent in the economic globalization process. Simultaneously, defenders have insufficiently acknowledged that it creates innocent victims who should be the object of ameliorative policies. Mandle describes effective policies to be adopted at the national and international levels to make globalization fair.