Amazon.com
The definitive history of water resources in the American West, and a very illuminating lesson in the political economy of limited resources anywhere. Highly recommended!
Book Description
Part One Of Two Parts
The story of the American West is the story of the relentless quest to control and allocate nature's most common, and the West's most precious, resource: water. CADILLAC DESERT recounts this dramatic saga.
The early settlers were lured by free land. But there was not enough water to sustain them, and they drifted on. Only the Mormons stayed, carefully tending a system of irrigation canals that tempered perpetual drought. Their success gave birth to federal aid programs, principally the Bureau of Reclamation. Without the bureau, without Hoover, Shasta and Grand Coulee, the West as we know it would not exist.
Customer Reviews:
Every American needs to read this book........2007-09-07
Or anyone thinking about moving/living west of the 100th meridian.
One of the best modern non-fiction books ever written, period.
Essential reading for our time.......2007-08-23
AKA...those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. It's essential reading on the mismanagement of arguably our most critical resource: drinking water.
Meticulously researched and quite well written, it's rare to find a non-fiction book that can be classified a page-turner, but this it it.
never dry!.......2007-08-20
The American experiment in democracy has degenerated into a plutocracy, in which wealth and power preempt democracy's ideals of equality and freedom [cf Kevin Phillips' Wealth & Democracy]. While Phillips gives a depressing history of the decline, and its corruption thru the centuries, Cadillac Desert focuses on perhaps the biggest corrupter of all - the sprawling water projects of the American West, in which water is diverted at huge cost to grow crops no one needs, all to support giant corporations that threaten to wipe out the family farms that were the rationale for the projects in the first place. Taken together, these books demonstrate that ideology or the party in power matters little - elections become a charade, masking the control of government by capital and its corporate controllers.
History as entertainment.......2007-07-21
Many people often find history to be a boring subject, whether in school, as a TV show, or as dinner conversation. And within the broad subject of history, few are considered as boring as the topic of public works. Wars, great leaders, sex scandals, spy stories, and scientific revolutions are the common topics of history shows and history best-sellers. Yet so few history books are as entertaining or enjoyable as this tome from the now-deceased Marc Reisner. This book's subject matter is man's attempts to control water flow in the US west of the Appalachias. This includes dams, canals, reservoirs, river diversions, and numerous other public works projects related to water. Some mention is made of irrigation by Native Americans, but most of the text is on public works done in the 20th century by the US federal government, and occasionally some state governments. The book explores the politics (local and national) behind various dams and other projects, and shows how these human constructions affected local economies and ecologies. Names like Hoover Dam, Grand Teton Dam, Central Arizona Project, and San Joaquin Valley are covered here. The author also highlights key individuals involved in dams throughout US history; such as LBJ, Floyd Dominy, Carl Hayden, and John Powell.
The book's chapters flow in a chronological order, with some chapters backtracking in time to cover different regions of the US. The text itself flows quickly and is written very well with the author taking time to include comedy in the form of irony, shortsightedness and outright stupidity on the part of many public servants. Several black and white photos provide the only illustrations. The only drawback of the book is the paucity of maps. Many of the rivers mentioned in the text are not immediately recognizable to the lay reader. But all in all, I consider this one of the best history books of the 1990's.
An essential, action-packed story of water policy (yes, you read that right).......2006-11-27
In "Cadillac Desert," Marc Reisner tells the story of how the American West destroyed its rivers with unnecessary dams. Environmentalists are often accused of opposing economic growth, but Reisner shows that the dam-builders - - and not their opponents - - were the ones ignoring economic criteria. As a result of the "beaver complex" of the Bureau of Reclamation and the US Army Corps of Engineers, we have a bunch of money-losing dams providing subsidized water to grow subsidized crops at high prices.
In other words, the beavers destroy wealth and jobs at the same time they destroy rivers, wetlands, and Indian reservations. Indirectly, they also contribute to the farm crisis in wetter areas such as the Mississippi and Ohio Valleys and the eastern seaboard.
It would be easy to unleash an army of econometricians to document the phenomenal waste of these dams. However, Reisner manages to provide us with an action narrative of these two out-of-control bureaucracies and a demented, pork-addled legislature. Let me repeat this, because it's the most remarkable feature of the book: an action narrative of two bureaucracies. The man can write.
He also gives us capsule biographies of leading figures - - including a full chapter on Floyd Dominy, the high priest of dam building. These people destroyed our rivers, not in the pursuit of growth, but in the pursuit of corporate welfare and back-room deals that move wealth around without creating any new wealth. Every environmentalist and anti-environmentalist needs to read the book.
In short, this is a riveting story, very well told. Not only is it highly recommended, but I join with many other reviewers in saying that this book should be required reading for all American citizens.
Book Description
Lords of Poverty is a case study in betrayals of a public trust. The shortcomings of aid are numerous, and serious enough to raise questions about the viability of the practice at its most fundamental levels. Hancock’s report is thorough, deeply shocking, and certain to cause critical reevaluation—of the government’s motives in giving foreign aid, and of the true needs of our intended beneficiaries.
Customer Reviews:
Fascinating if one sided- a must read for all development workers. Unfortunately outdated.......2006-05-29
Disclosure time- I work in the aid industry.
While I agree with much of what Hancock has to say (see below), this book is somewhat one-sided. Aid can reasonably claim a share in some positive world developments, such as rising life expectancy rates, decreased infant mortality, increase in primary education and literacy, growth in per capita GDP, and others. Undoubtedly, success has been patchy, and some areas, such as Sub-Saharan Africa, are worse off than they were fifty years ago, before the advent of the international aid industry. But in detailing its extensive failures, one should not completely ignore its successes (even if they maybe much less than what the aid industry claims).
With all that being said, I think a book of this sort is a must read for all aid workers, to bring us face to face with dark side of our work.
Here is a list of criticisms Hancock has about the international aid industry, and my own impressions.
1. International aid is a big bureaucracy more intent on keeping itself going than helping the poor.
My response- true- International aid is a huge bureaucracy. I spend my time writing and reading memos, and trying to get them 'cleared' as fast as possible. I literally spend no time with the poor.
2. International aid agencies spend money on big, wasteful projects that harm the poor and decimate indigenous societies.
My response: True depending on the development agency/country mission. Agencies (and agency sub-divisions, such as country missions) with lots of funds go this route. The ones that don't have such large accounts hire 'technical experts' instead.
3. Aid agencies hire expensive foreign 'technical experts' who lack local expertise; they bypass the concerns and wisdom of the local population.
True to a large extent. Most experts do not even speak the language of those they are trying to help. Some of our experts do supposedly meet with the local population, and address them through means such as surveys, interviews and 'focus group discussions.' I have no idea how hard they really try, as I sit in the office writing and reading memos. In either case, nothing really innovative comes from these efforts. This is because these experts already have blanket solutions (which are the same throughout the world) and try to impose them on the local populace through 'behavior change and communication' and other similar methods. Thus, the surveys and interviews, to the extent they take place at all, are not really a means to partner with the local people; rather, they are means to learn about the 'barriers' to implementation of blanket solutions.
4. International aid is actually a means for subsidizing western businesses.
Undoubtedly true. As Hancock points out, this is one reason why development agencies go for big projects, and why they hire 'foreign experts.' If I am not spending my time writing and reading memos I am spending my time reading project proposals for my development agency's money. Most of these, of course, come from Western businesses and NGOs. I also spend my time enforcing or waiving regulations stating that organizations that receive our money can only buy goods (including but certainly not limited to automobiles and pharmaceuticals) produced in my nation.
5. International aid has allowed wicked despots to make themselves richer, and allowed ruling thugs to escape responsibility.
True- but I think there has been somewhat more of an emphasis today on funding being tied to concepts such as 'good governance,' controlling corruption, and so on, at least in theory. Of course, reality is sometimes different, in that nations of 'strategic importance' get large amounts of funds despite poor governance, incredible corruption and other failures.
5. Development workers are lazy and mediocre. They are often under-educated, make lots of money, live in big houses, have conferences in the best hotels and eat gourmet cuisine.
Partly true. Most of the aid workers in my particular aid agency are highly educated- the minimum entry requirement is a master's degree, and many of us have PhDs or the equivalent. Our base salary is not very impressive compared to others of a similar educational background- certainly many of us could make much more outside of the official aid industry. That being said, the fringe benefits are quite lavish- one may even say over the top: I admit that I am a single woman living in a large 3-bedroom manor, I attend conferences at ritzy hotels and dine on great food- in an impoverished third world country, all at government, or should I say tax payer, expense.
So, the aid industry has gone seriously wrong- what can we do about it? Unfortunately, while Hancock goes into great depths about the problems of aid, he gives us very few solutions. He believes we should dismantle the aid industry- but then what? How can we as citizens of our planet help our world become a better place? Some possible solutions suggested themselves to me when reading the book- one wonders why Hancock decided not to write an extra chapter with ideas such as these:
1. Clarify and purify intentions. As Hancock points out, the mixed intentions of the aid industry (help the poor AND aid western businesses AND further political interests AND AND AND...) is responsible for many of the problems it has caused.
2. Partner with local communities. I mean truly partner with them, listen to their concerns and ideas, and let them take the lead in coming up with solutions. Note, unlike Hancock, I do think there is a place, with careful thought, for some `Western' knowledge and technology. The best solutions maybe ones arrived at through our collective wisdom. However, don't just try to impose blanket solutions through means such as 'behavior change.'
3. Keep things small as much as possible. Some big projects such as large-scale famine relief, refugee assistance, etc, maybe necessary, but these large-scale efforts are much more prone to corruption, and much more often bypass local communities.
4. Speak the local language- this is the only way to effectively partner with local communities.
Finally, as others have pointed out, the book was written in 1989, so its quite dated. While much of what it says still holds true, an updated version offering modern examples of aid failure would be much more powerful.
good points marred by over-the-top rhetoric and no solutions.......2005-04-29
Hancock makes important points in this book: many aid projects do more harm than good, many aid officials are overpaid, too much aid money gets funneled to US companies (for more on this, see Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, by John Perkins), and publicly funded aid organizations are insufficiently accountable to the public. But his extreme rhetoric warns us that if there is a good side to aid, it certainly won't be represented here. Here's a sample of his accusations: "These lords of poverty are the druids of the modern era wielding enormous power that is accountable to no one."
On the one hand, Hancock's anecdotal evidence is unconvincing. He tells us that his often-chilling anecdotes are representative, but we have no way of really knowing. That said, he provides so many anecdotes that - by the end - we start to feel like they are, if not representative of all aid, at least insightful into an uncomfortable proportion.
But the litany of anecdotes is also tiring. The writing is not particularly great, and I felt that some of the analysis was flawed. (For example, in two places he argues that Western nations don't give nearly enough in aid, but most of the book argues that everything we give is wasted anyway. It's not clear how giving more would help, given his theses.)
Eventually I tired of simply hearing one aid horror story after another. He also misses the fact that there have been some major successes in aid, particularly in the realm of public health, in which organizations like the World Bank and UNICEF have played a part. (To read about some of these successes, look at Millions Saved by Ruth Levine et al.)
I'm glad I read the book, but I wish Hancock had made it a little less exhausting and a little more balanced. I also wish we'd gotten more solutions in the end. His only solution is to dissolve the aid industry (as it is "inherently bad, bad to the bone, and utterly beyond reform"), after which we have the vague promise that "it will become possible for people to rediscover ways to `help' one another directly."
A wonderful account.......2004-11-28
This sobering account of the truth about aid and the turth about what the 'lords of poverty' are doing to africa is wonderful. Let us first understand the thesis. The new NGOs and those who make their living on aiding 'Africa' are in it for the money and their racist idea that africans cant do anything without the white man has led to disaster in africa. THe one solution to africas problems would be for all the aid workers to leave. Let Africa walk on her own legs. This book tells the dirty details of the how the aid organizations lie to the western public to get massive amounts fo money so they can drive expensive cars and pray on teenage african prositutes and what is worse these aid organizations constitute a new colonization of Africa by the europeans, here we have entire countries who budgets are planned by the IMF and whose food is distributed by the WFO and whose schools are built by NGOs. Where is the African in all this? COlonization is alive and well in Africa and this book exposes it.
Seth J. Frantzman
extremely disappointing.......2004-10-15
As an open-minded aid worker, I was interested to read about our faults (and there are many, nobody's perfect).
But G.Hancock fails miserably to deliver. I have the same reaction with Michael Moore: I agree with his ideas, want to enajoyhis books, and then am extremley disappointed. A long litany of facts mostly correct, sometimnes distorted to fit the picture, and nothing else. No analysis of reasons why, no consideration of what the other side may have to say, no shades of gray, everything is black. Morevoer there does not seem to be any alternatives. Even conservatives can do better than that.
One example of superficial analysis (page 171):
1- a highway was (poorly) built in Somalia and started failing almost immediately. OK this happens too often
2- Somalia will still be repaying the loan ($100M) after 40 years.
NO: first of all with a soft loan they would pay at most a third of it, second even if the road is failing, the road built may be still worth more than that...
And second of all Somalia's debt was cancelled in the meantime...SO they will not pay anything...
I am not saying building a poor highway is OK, I am saying the the author criticizes in a simplistic manner. His ranting is really useless. I guess it is for non-aid workers, who will conclude that aid is to be stopped completely.
WHAT DOES THE AUTHOR PRPOSE TO IMPROVE THE PERFORMANCE OF AID ?
Nothing said about that.
NB. One failing among others: why there is no mention of international journalists (such as the author). They also live (fatly) from poverty...
One part fact, one part rant.......2004-06-08
The first half of this short book is a relatively informative overview of the responsibilities and functions of major aid and development agencies, although the statistics are now well out of date. That said, little of any of this is primary research and the author relies fairly selectively on sensationalistic quotes and facts that tell the part of the story he wants to tell.
The second half of the book, however, is little more than a rant during which the author mocks and insults aid and development workers for about 100 pages. The vitriolic quality of writing makes one wonder if an aid worker dumped him at some point. You could skip this whole part of the book and be better off for it.
Maybe I take it personally since I'm an aid worker, but I can tell you with authority that Mr. Hancock really doesn't have any idea what he's writing about - he mischaracterizes the lives and personalities of most aid workers and oversimplifies the challenges and complexity of the work. He's angry and bitter about something and I don't think it's corruption or incompetence.
And just for the record: Reviewer Viola P. Reyna doesn't have command of the facts either. Most foreign aid workers are required to pay taxes in their home countries while living abroad. Americans living abroad for more than 330 days a year, whether they are aid workers or oil drillers or whatever, are not required to pay taxes unless they make over $80,000. Everyone is still, however, required to report their incomes and file their tax returns. So contrary to what Viola says, the US Government knows exactly what everyone is making.
Book Description
Corruption has been a feature of public institutions for centuries yet only relatively recently has it been made the subject of sustained scientific analysis. Lambsdorff shows how insights from institutional economics can be used to develop a better understanding of why corruption occurs and the best policies to combat it. He argues that rather than being deterred by penalties, corrupt actors are more influenced by other factors such as the opportunism of their criminal counterparts and the danger of acquiring an unreliable reputation. This suggests a novel strategy for fighting corruption similar to the invisible hand that governs competitive markets. This strategy - the ‘invisible foot’ - shows that the unreliability of corrupt counterparts induces honesty and good governance even in the absence of good intentions. Combining theoretical research with state-of-the-art empirical investigations, this book will be an invaluable resource for researchers and policy-makers concerned with anti-corruption reform.
Book Description
Worldwide, the construction sector is regularly rated as the most corrupt industry. Even so, the scale and effects of this corruption are frequently underestimated. The 2005 edition of Transparency International's Global Corruption Report shows that corruption in the construction industry has the power to shape and devastate economies. It has the power to ruin livelihoods and, under certain circumstances, to take lives. This book outlines the particular characteristics of the construction industry that enable the corrupt to plunder the vast amounts of international funds that pour into large-scale infrastructure projects. Whether through international bribes paid to secure contracts for the Lesotho Dam, or the politicians implicated in the purchase of a waste incinerator in Cologne, the report reveals how corruption steers money away from essential services and development projects. In a special section dedicated to post-conflict reconstruction, the report shows! how, from Angola to Iraq, the corrupt prey on the most vulnerable. The Global Corruption Report 2005 also shows that no matter how entrenched corruption seems, it can be beaten. Along with presenting measures specifically tailored to curbing bribery in construction, the report uncovers major trends in anti-corruption legislation and reforms in more than 40 countries. The book also offers the latest corruption research, including studies on the links between corruption and, in turn, issues such as pollution, gender and foreign investment.
Book Description
Despite recent corporate scandals, the United States is among the world’s least corrupt nations. But in the nineteenth century, the degree of fraud and corruption in America approached that of today’s most corrupt developing nations, as municipal governments and robber barons alike found new ways to steal from taxpayers and swindle investors. In Corruption and Reform, contributors explore this shadowy period of United States history in search of better methods to fight corruption worldwide today.
Contributors to this volume address the measurement and consequences of fraud and corruption and the forces that ultimately led to their decline within the United States. They show that various approaches to reducing corruption have met with success, such as deregulation, particularly “free banking,” in the 1830s. In the 1930s, corruption was kept in check when new federal bureaucracies replaced local administrations in doling out relief. Another deterrent to corruption was the independent press, which kept a watchful eye over government and business. These and other facets of American history analyzed in this volume make it indispensable as background for anyone interested in corruption today.
Book Description
Why has the literature on Asian development not addressed the issue of money politics in Korea? How can we reconcile the view of an efficient developmental state in Korea before 1997 with reports of massive corruption and inefficiency in that same country in 1998 and 1999? Politics is central to the answer. This study argues that both Korea and the Philippines experienced significant corruption throughout the post-independence era, and that political--not economic--considerations dominated policy making in both countries.
Download Description
Why has the literature on Asian development not addressed the issue of money politics in Korea? How can we reconcile the view of an efficient developmental state in Korea before 1997 with reports of massive corruption and inefficiency in that same country in 1998 and 1999? Politics is central to the answer. In this book the author makes two arguments. First, both Korea and the Philippines experienced significant corruption throughout the post-independence era. Second, political - not economic - considerations dominated policy making in both countries. Focusing on the exchange of favors for bribes between state and business, the author argues that politics drove policy choices, that bureaucrats were not autonomous from political interference in setting policy, and that business and political elites wrestled with each other over who would reap the rents to be had. Even in Korea, corruption was far greater than the conventional wisdom allows.
Customer Reviews:
An interesting book for specialists.......2002-07-30
This book takes on an important topic: the relationship between corruption and economic development, focusing on two countries, South Korea and the Philippines. It began, apparently some years ago, as the author's dissertation. As a consequence, most of the analysis and references apply to events in the past. It is much better on Korea than it is on the Philippines. The book argues that the outcomes in the Philippines and Korea are best understood as a competition between the political and economic elite for the rents generated by the economy. Since the competition between the political and economic elite was more balanced in Korea, corruption there did not spiral out of control as it did in the Philippines. A chapter attempting to analyze these countries rather differing experiences in the 1997 Asian financial crisis (the Philippines fared better than Korea) in terms of this framework seems appended to any already finished product. The book does make the important point that simply invoking the slogan "developmental state" is an inadequate explanation of these two countries differing histories.
Amazon.com
This is an attempt to understand Mexico's steep descent into turmoil, which happened rapidly after the uprising in Chiapas on New Year's Day 1994. Following the assassinations of a presidential candidate and then the congressional leader, President Carlos Salinas de Gortari had barely left office when the peso collapsed. Pursued by allegations of corruption, Salinas then fled the country. Oppenheimer, a reporter for The Miami Herald, argues that the crisis is the result of nothing grander than a turf war within a decrepit ruling party and that the Chiapas uprising is not something new, just another eruption of the Marxist intellectualism that has long flourished in Latin America.
Customer Reviews:
Should be required reading.......2003-05-04
This book is so shocking, it left me hoping the author made it all up. It raises many important questions regarding the US relationship with out southern neighbor. A must read.
GOOD HISTORY, WELL RESEARCHED, FAST PACED READ.......2003-04-12
In Bordering on Chaos, Oppenheimer does a very good job of depicting the events and digging up the dirty that led to many of the most important events in mid-1990s Mexico, including the murder of the leading presidential candidate, the rise of the Zapatistas and the choice of Zedillo for president.
However, instead of pure history, we are presented with deep character development for the two main actors in this process, Zedillo himself (the president to be) and Subcomandante Marcos, the leader of the Zapatista movement. In this process, we learn of the political ploys adopted by the PRI, the almost monarchic party that led the country for most of the century. These include forays into education, health, and the most important social services. Another important area is the corruption going on at the top levels of the PRI, requiring, for example, that business people contribute a minimum of [several] million to participate in the government, or else be excluded, with all that it entailed. There is less than I would like to know on Carlos Salinas, the now disgraced but formerly darling leader.
Overall, a good history and a well written book. If you have an interest in Mexico, or in the crisis period of the mid-1990s, this may offer some of the pieces that build up a puzzle of it.
Facinating account.......2001-12-14
This is a great read for anyone wanting to know about Mexico during the 1990s. It's very indepth, at times it feels like maybe Oppenheimer doesn't have all the information to tell the story, but he sure tells a lot of it. It's also not overly biased, like many books about recent Mexican history. Oppenheimer does a great job of setting the scene, explaining who is who, and helping the reader get their arms around all the different factions that make for a volatile social environment in Mexico. I also read "Castro's Final Hour" which was informative, but not as good (especially since the "final hour" was somewhere in the early nineties, and now it's 2001). I'd love to read more of Oppenheimer.
Andresito has excellent contacts.......2001-02-17
Excellent book on recent Mexican history.
Excellent. Give Us More........2000-12-07
The dearth of good books on Mexico makes this one very welcome. It's architecture rests largely on two character portraits: one of Ernesto Zedillo, and the other of the man who calls himself Subcommander Marcos. There is some sketchy material, too, on Carlos Salinas, but it's the type of data that adds to the enigma of the man rather than to our understanding of him.
With Zedillo, one can see why two huge accomplishments coincided with his term in office, and went largely unlauded: 1) the payback of the bailout money ahead of time, and 2) the holding of real elections.
Oppenheimer shows Zedillo to be honest and smart--unlike many Mexican politicians, his degree from an Ivy League school was not just window dressing; he really is a trained economist. But he was not very popular. As an uncorruptible technocrat, he never would have gotten the nod to be the new president if not for the assassination of Colosio, whose campaign manager he was at the time of the murder. But once he was thrust in by Fate to the number one spot, he proved unusually effective. He was not fashionable or charismatic, and not very well loved by the electorate, which understandably blamed him for the devaluation which occurred at the very beginning of his term. Carlos Salinas was fashionable and charismatic, and there can be little doubt that the conditions necessitating the devaluation accumulated during his term.
Even now, with Zedillo gone, those two accomplishments loom over the future more powerfully than anything else that has happened in Mexico for many years.The payback of the bailout money signals that though there may be stumbles on the way to free trade with the US, a quick recovery is possible instead of a long Japanese-style tailspin. The bailout money could have gone into the pockets of well-placed Mexicans, (where now are the millions that the World Bank poured into Russia?) but it did not. I would guess that a lot of credit for that goes to the unfashionably honest Zedillo.
The conversion to a truly multiparty system where it is possible for anyone to win also bodes well for the future, both economically and culturally. Mexico could have started having real elections a long time ago, elections that were more than just costly and showy formalities, but it did not. They didn't have a real election until it was time to replace Zedillo. The irony is that a corrupt system put into power an honest man, who then reformed it.
The other character that makes this book work is Rafael Guillen, AKA Subcommander Marcos, the leader of the Zapatista uprising, who turns out to be neither an Indian nor a peasant nor even a native of Chiapas, but simply a garden variety marxist from a middle class family in Tampico. An undereducated and underworked lout, he acquired a degree from the National Autonomous University of Mexico with a dissertation on capitalist oppression (what else?). Employing in this dissertation a style reminiscent of the Unabomber, he revealed the family to be the first "unit of oppression", followed by schools, the second "unit of oppression", and so on. The only thing that can break this ubiquitous oppression, according to the budding Subcommander, is "proletarian politics".
Oppenheimer doesn't go into how this ideological huckster managed to convince the peasants of Chiapas he could help them--that would be an excellent and highly entertaining book in itself--, but he does show clearly what type of person cooked up the rebellion, which did no good for anyone. In short, it was the kind of person without enough sense to use something other than a ski mask (wool?) to disguise himself in the tropics.
By making plain the character of these two men, Oppenheimer adds much to our understanding of what has gone on in Mexico in the last few years. Still, much goes unanswered, such as the actual legality or illegality of the billionaires' banquet, where each of thirty rich men pledged $25 million to the PRI for the election of 1994. Oppenheimer tells of what a scandal there was when the publication El Economista broke the story, but doesn't say whether anyone was prosecuted or even had in fact broken the law. The implication of the secrecy of the banquet and the subsequent scandal, is that there are legal limits on campaign contributions in Mexico, as there are in the US. I'm not sure this is the case.
If in fact there are no legal limits, it becomes a question of whether Mexicans in general disapproved of their richest compatriots throwing their financial weight around. It's to Oppenheimer's credit that he notes the alternative to wealthy men giving dizzying sums to the PRI, which is the Mexican government giving dizzying sums to the PRI, which is the way it had been done since the Revolution.
Frankly, if I were a Mexican taxpayer, I'd rather the PRI got its money from the billionaires.
Book Description
Not unlike other states, Vermont's quality of life, political independence, and sustainability are threatened by Corporate America, the U.S. government, the war on terrorism, homeland security, American imperialism, and globalization. This is a call for Vermont to reclaim its soul - to return to its rightful status as an independent republic as it once was between 1777 and 1791. In so doing, Vermont can provide a kinder, gentler, more communitarian metaphor for a nation obsessed with money, power, size, speed, greed, and fear of terrorism. Long live the Second Republic of Vermont.
Customer Reviews:
For the Right Reasons, Intelligent Outline for a New Republic.......2006-04-12
The US federal government is failing to serve the people, and according to the precepts of the American Republic, that gives the people the right to abolish the government. In the case of the Second Vermont Republic, the author and his very thoughtful colleagues are proposing instead to succeed from the Federal Union that is not Federal anymore--the federal government is now a "hired hand" for Wall Street and a servant to dictators of Saudi Arabia as well as the Israeli lobby.
Professor Naylor, also a successful software businessman many years ago, is a citizen-philosopher and by no stretch of the imagination could he be labeled "fringe." In his case, radical is the opposite of reactionary, and exactly where we need to be.
The elements of the Vermont Manifesto are ten in total: political independence; grass roots democracy; nonviolence; environmental integrity; sustainable development; regional trade; sustainable agriculture; rail revitalization; quality education; and wellness.
The premises of the Vermont Manifesto, apart from recognition of the corruption and immorality that prevail on Wall Street and the energy industry and their servants in Congress and the White House, is that big is bad and small is good. This is totally consistent with the end of Peak Oil and the need to get back to localized sustainable energy and food production that does not need to be transported great distances. The Vermont Manifesto also recognizes that evil done by the American Empire "in our name" ultimately comes back to pillage and loot the state-level commonwealths.
Lest anyone think this book is "fringe" I would point to my many other reviews (I am the #1 Amazon reviewer for non-fiction about foreign policy--I would not be reviewing this book if it were not fundamental), but especially to my review of, and the book itself, Joel Garreau, "The Nine Nations of North America."
It is clear to me that sanity is re-asserting itself in the Pacific Northwest and the far Northeast. This specific book would be useful to every single state in America, and I have a specific question that every single state should put on its 2006 ballot:
"Should we join a Constitutional Convention to discuss the abolishment of the present government and the reconstitution of the Americas as a new Republic that restores representative democracy and moral capitalism?"
A must for all striving for social justice.......2004-09-10
Mr. Naylor, Professor emeritus of Duke University, presents an articulate and effective argument for native Vermonters and flatlanders alike. Its points are simple and clear, making for an enjoyable, informative read.
Average customer rating:
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The New Golden Age
Ravi Batra
Manufacturer: Blackstone Audio Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette
 General
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0786148098 |
Product Description
Bestselling author and economist Ravi Batra identifies the roadblocks to economic prosterity and what we need to do to overcome them.
Product Description
Bestselling author and economist Ravi Batra identifies the roadblocks to economic prosterity and what we need to do to overcome them.
Customer Reviews:
The New Golden Age: The Coming Revolution against Political Corruption and Economic Chaos.......2007-08-08
An exceptional economics book that tells the truth directly and in simple and completely understandable terms. Scuttles the Media and Political hype and presents what is needful and workable toward economic democracy that is now being submerged be the Global "Free Market" lies, myths and swindles.
Should be required reading for every truly patriotic citizen.
Stays on message - still the most potent critic of Capitalism .......2007-06-16
Ravi Batra is still at it, almost three decades since he penned the classic "The Downfall of Capitalism and Communism: A New Study of History". We have come a long way with this author since then and never been bored. Batra's thesis is that we have entered the era of financial capitalism, the last stage of the Age of Acquisitors, where an increasingly uneven distribution of wealth feeds into increasing financial leverage and speculation, until the system can't handle it anymore and collapses. Following the collapse is financial destitution of many and social chaos. Such an outcome is still the most potent form of criticism of Capitalism. If Batra is at some point proved right that
a) the Great Depression of the 1930s was no fluke and
b) that innovations and safeguards to our financial system adopted since then cannot prevent another meltdown,
then that is a major an indictment of our form of social organization and, ultimately, our way of life.
At the heart of Batra's writings are the ideas of his mentor P.R. Sarkar. Batra has done more than anyone to publicize the message of this giant of modern day Indian thought in the West. This book is yet another installation into that body of work. While the message may no longer be as novel or fresh as it was in the 1980s, his work now builds on three decades of experience, including a multitude of accurate predictions (although the most important one has so far been a spectacular failure - the Great Depression of 1990!). He is now more circumspect about such things, including the adoption of a fiat monetary system in the 1970s and how monetary policy has been successfully used to forestall a major crash. In one sense he is quite correct, our monetary and financial system is an ongoing social experiment. Batra's work is, if anything, a reminder that we take a lot of things for granted. It is healthy to consider the alternatives, such as if the systemic stability were to give way to catastrophe. Central banks all over the world now devote considerable resources into researching this question and government surveillance of the financial market is now commonplace with stock markets all over the world soaring. Interestingly, all of that, albeit important, is not really the key focus of his work. As the name of his new book suggests, it is the glorious new dawn of a world based on the sentient philosophy of his mentor that is his main message.
Time will tell if Batra and the ideas he promotes are the real deal. So far, he has yet to prove the worth of these ideas with his major prediction. However, he has offered many novel insights into how modern capitalism works. For instance, in the 1980s he was one of the first to talk about how the financial sector was becoming the key to social developments in the West. Today, we take such insights for granted. Overall, the ideas he is describing are more than worthy of our careful consideration. Let us also not forget that he made a prediction in the book mentioned above in 1978 that Communism would fall. It did. As is the norm for him, the book is exceedingly well written and the message as fascinating as ever. Batra tends to be a few steps ahead of the rest of us, even if it sometimes looks as if he going down the wrong path. Even if he has made a big misstep, in my opinion, he is still headed in the right direction. The ideas are serious and profound and also filled with hope. The book is highly recommended for the intellectually curious or those scoping about for a more meaningful approach to life than what the real world has on offer in the early 21th century.
A Call to Arms!!!.......2007-03-25
In this book, Batra expains how the economic chaos and political corruption will continue to escalate and worsen over the next few years until the working class eventually rise up like warriors against the acquisitor class (capitalist - Russ Winter calls them the "pigmen") who have infiltrated all aspects of our government, the press, and our society at large. This uprising will dawn a new golden era of prosperity for the masses and the working class. A move away from "trickle down" economics where indebtedness of the masses for the fortitude of the richest has resulted in an increasingly unstable bubble-led economy with resultant record trade imbalances that leaves us (as a nation and society) in a precarious and vulnerable situation.
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