In this interesting polemic, the author, who is chief executive of a large, independent European investment firm, dismisses the notion that globalisation is to blame for the poor growth, massive unemployment and high levels of indebtedness in the West.

Daniel Pinto says his aim in writing the book is not to focus on decline but rather what needs to be done by way of reconstruction. The debt crisis can certainly be blamed for bringing down the mighty twin towers of American and European capitalism.

However, he says the real cause of the crisis has been the death of entrepreneurship in the West. Western companies, he says are run by professional “administrators-in-chief” in the guise of chief executives.

Disinclined to make the investment s required to lead their companies in the longer term, they are instead adept at managing their own careers.

Pinto contrasts western organisations with Asian and Latin American firms that have largely remained in the hands of owner-managers, who are empire builders. They have the long-term vision to look at how they can be successful entities over a 10-year horizon. The West needs to follow suit, he says.