Amazon.com
In Natural Capitalism, three top strategists show how leading-edge companies are practicing "a new type of industrialism" that is more efficient and profitable while saving the environment and creating jobs. Paul Hawken and Amory and Hunter Lovins write that in the next century, cars will get 200 miles per gallon without compromising safety and power, manufacturers will relentlessly recycle their products, and the world's standard of living will jump without further damaging natural resources. "Is this the vision of a utopia? In fact, the changes described here could come about in the decades to come as the result of economic and technological trends already in place," the authors write.
They call their approach natural capitalism because it's based on the principle that business can be good for the environment. For instance, Interface of Atlanta doubled revenues and employment and tripled profits by creating an environmentally friendly system of recycling floor coverings for businesses. The authors also describe how the next generation of cars is closer than we might think. Manufacturers are already perfecting vehicles that are ultralight, aerodynamic, and fueled by hybrid gas-electric systems. If natural capitalism continues to blossom, so much money and resources will be saved that societies will be able to focus on issues such as housing, contend Hawken, author of a book and PBS series called Growing a Business, and the Lovinses, who cofounded and directed the Rocky Mountain Institute, an environmental think tank. The book is a fascinating and provocative read for public-policy makers, as well as environmentalists and capitalists alike. --Dan Ring
Book Description
In Natural Capitalism, three top strategists show how leading-edge companies are practicing "a new type of industrialism" that is more efficient and profitable while saving the environment and creating jobs. Paul Hawken and Amory and Hunter Lovins write that in the next century, cars will get 200 miles per gallon without compromising safety and power, manufacturers will relentlessly recycle their products, and the world's standard of living will jump without further damaging natural resources. "Is this the vision of a utopia?In fact, the changes described here could come about in the decades to come as the result of economic and technological trends already in place," the authors write.They call their approach natural capitalism because it's based on the principle that business can be good for the environment. For instance, Interface of Atlanta doubled revenues and employment and tripled profits by creating an environmentally friendly system of recycling floor coverings for businesses. The authors also describe how the next generation of cars is closer than we might think. Manufacturers are already perfecting vehicles that are ultralight, aerodynamic, and fueled by hybrid gas-electric systems. If natural capitalism continues to blossom, so much money and resources will be saved that societies will be able to focus on issues such as housing, contend Hawken, author of a book and PBS series called Growing a Business, and the Lovinses, who cofounded and directed the Rocky Mountain Institute, an environmental think tank. The book is a fascinating and provocative read for public-policy makers, as well as environmentalists and capitalists alike. --Dan Ring
Customer Reviews:
Great book. Innovative and still readable. .......2007-10-10
This is more than one book's worth of information. Years of research and innovation are woven together tightly and the result is an extremely informative book that is also a page turner.
The book includes enough technical detail to be of use to current experts in the field and the writing makes the data accessible to the newbie as well.
This would be a particularly good read for anyone in business who's looking to improve the bottom line while simultanteously lessoning the negative impact of operations on the planet. The authors show clearly how businesses can reduce costs by implementing eco-friendly practices.
Great for Green Building..........2007-10-05
this is a great resource for anyone wanting to learn more about sustainable building practices and how they can affect your bottom line. I recommend it for architects, designers and developers alike.
Excellent environmental analysis, clear direction!.......2007-10-04
This book provides a wealth of environmental analysis, including well-considered advice for policymakers at every level (from federal down to county). Also there is solid information for residential/condominium owners. The section that describes and designs how low-end residential units can sell energy back to the grid and raise their standard of living was exceptionally well-written. I am still reading the rest of the book and have not stopped since I first picked it up.
Great solutions to in-depth problems.......2007-09-30
I've only read the first two chapters, but its very motivating. The authors creatively give solutions to the environmental problems of the world. They fully understand the problems at hand, analyze them completely and give valuable ideas for probably and realistic solutions.
A more complete view of the economy.......2007-09-19
This book shows how our current view of the environment is flawed. It brings us from viewing the environment as something too vast to be harmed, to understanding that technology has given humanity the ability to profoundly affect the environment. The book presents a good argument as to why we need to see nature as part of the economic cycle and factor its use into how we use and manage the earth's resources.
Book Description
Succed in economics with, ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS AND MANAGEMENT: THEORY, POLICY AND APPLICATIONS. Learn to use economic analytical tools such as market models, benefit-cost analysis, and risk analysis to assess environmental problems and to evaluate policy solutions. Margin definitions and internet links help you master the terminology and offer updates and information beyond the text.
Book Description
Environmental disasters. Terrorist wars. Energy scarcity. Economic failure. Is this the world's inevitable fate, a downward spiral that ultimately spells the collapse of societies? Perhaps, says acclaimed author Thomas Homer-Dixon - or perhaps these crises can actually lead to renewal for ourselves and planet earth.
The Upside of Down takes the reader on a mind-stretching tour of societies' management, or mismanagement, of disasters over time. From the demise of ancient Rome to contemporary climate change, this spellbinding book analyzes what happens when multiple crises compound to cause what the author calls "synchronous failure." But, crisis doesn't have to mean total global calamity. Through catagenesis, or creative, bold reform in the wake of breakdown, it is possible to reinvent our future.
Drawing on the worlds of archeology, poetry, politics, science, and economics, The Upside of Down is certain to provoke controversy and stir imaginations across the globe. The author's wide-ranging expertise makes his insights and proposals particularly acute, as people of all nations try to grapple with how we can survive tomorrow's inevitable shocks to our global system. There is no guarantee of success, but there are ways to begin thinking about a better world, and The Upside of Down is the ideal place to start thinking.
Customer Reviews:
Eloquent and timely.......2007-09-05
In this pathbreaking work Thomas Homer-Dixon illustrates the complex and tenuous relations between the human ecology and the natural systems upon which society, markets, and structures of governance are based. He warns that human populations, and their high rates of resource consumption, are rapidly outstripping the regenerative capacity of the planet. A principal contribution of the work lies in his argument that energy flows play a central role in the maintainance of economic and socio-political stability. Homer-Dixon's exploration of the role of energy in the collapse of previous political institutions is rather novel and deserves serious consideration.
Moreover, Homer-Dixon has a rare talent for weaving advances in the natural sciences into the policy literature and communicating advanced concepts to the reader with clarity and precision. His discussions of complexity, emergent properties, and panarchy are particularly illuminating. A wonderful read.
Reflecting in the fog.......2007-08-24
The key question in this book is raised in the very middle: "Why don't we face reality?" A major reason is that we are groping in a fog to learn what that reality is. Homer-Dixon likens our society to a driver careering along a country road in a dense fog. We can barely see what's ahead, but we're somehow confident that no mishap will befall us. We've gotten this far safely. As we drive, we're guided by the mantra of "endless economic growth". We have some idea where we've been, but remain uncertain about what lies ahead. Worse, we don't seem to care. Ignoring the warning signs indicating that all might not be well we continue along our course. In this excellent study of how our society is progressing and where it's likely going, the author clearly outlines the various options before us and what actions we can take to prevent serious disruptions.
The book is a call for preparation. Resilience is what our outlook and our policies should undertake to prevent disasters that we cannot handle. Having observed and reflected on these issues for several years, Homer-Dixon concludes that major difficulties lie ahead. We cannot avoid them - they're already here or loom in the near future. He lists some of the obvious ones: terrorism is now a part of life, climate change beyond our experience is already with us, and economic and social disruption causes have already been pinpointed. His model used as the basis of assessment is the Roman Empire. He cites three examples of what the Empire accomplished, the Colosseum, the road and aqueduct networks and the Temple of Jupiter at Baalbek, Lebanon. All these enterprises required immense amounts of energy, yet a society without engineering schools achieved them all successfully. It worked only so long as the energy was available and applied efficiently. Our schools taught us that the Romans built their imperium on slavery, but Homer-Dixon shows that concept to be false. Oxen pulled the 256 carts of material required by the Colosseum and free peasant farmers supplied the basic energy needs. The Empire collapsed only when the energy required failed. We need to understand what can be learned from that Empire offer, and Homer-Dixon demonstrates how pertinent the lessons are today.
The author's formula for assessment is EROI - Energy Return On Investment. We've been profligate in energy use, and it's future availability is a major concern of the his. "Peak oil" has been the topic of so many books and articles, it should be old news. The author notes how the petroleum industry and those dependent on it keep up a continuous barrage of denial propaganda to discourage us from believing that evident fact. The "globalised" economy was supposed to reduce the distinction between rich and poor. Not only is it having the opposite effect, but it's increasing the consumption of energy in the process. While a number of recent books stress the threats posed by environmental change, Homer-Dixon sees that as but one element in a far larger picture. He deals with a full range of pressures building up to threaten society. He likens them to tectonic stresses likely to snap unexpectedly at any time.
Unlike some books making forecasts or offering timetables of potential catastrophe, Homer-Dixon's more circumspect. He's more concerned with demonstrating that the kinds of "growth" we've experienced cannot endure. What and when surprise setbacks occur is of less importance to him than how we adjust to them. He's not addressing a small coterie of "movers and shakers" with this work His prose style is just short of that of a story-telling narrative. He means for all of us, taxpayers, policy-makers and even academics and scientists, to participate in the development and preparation of new sets of options for survival. We will all be effected by the unfolding events. While this may seem that the author's "Down" is inevitable and final, he prefixed it with "Upside" for a reason. His opening depicts the destruction of a city - San Francisco in the 1906 earthquake and fire. The city didn't collapse and die, but recovery meant a new approach to disaster planning. We must follow that example, or our collapse will be more severe. It will be global and possibly all-consuming. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
Required Reading for all Who Care About the Planet.......2007-07-05
This brilliant, courageous, inspiring, multidisciplinary book unflinchingly examines the ominous, ever increasing tectonic pressures--population imbalances, energy shortages, environmental damage, global warming, and the widening gaps between rich and poor--that threaten to disrupt, if not topple, civilization.
Historical, ecological, political, economic, scientific, sociological and psychological threads are woven together in a fascinating, extremely readable analysis of the mess we are in, how we got here, what we can expect in the future, and what we can do about it.
Homer-Dixon does not provide magic bullet solutions to our problems because, in fact, none exists. He does, however, suggest four important actions, including boosting the overall resilience of our civilization, especially critical systems like energy and food distribution. Most importantly, he stresses the cultivation of the prospective mind, which includes an openness to radically new ways of thinking about our world and about how we should live our lives.
The author states that "when a social earthquake erupts--when the established order starts to crack and crumble--much depends on what happens in the period immediately following the initial shock." A mega-crisis has the potential to jolt people awake from their social conditioning, and can bring out the very worst or the very best in people. Homer-Dixon tells us to prepare for that moment, so the forces of reason, tolerance and compassion will prevail.
This book is not for those wanting to pretend that band-aide solutions from corporate-owned politicians will save us. This book is a zen-like slap in the face designed to zap denial, and awaken prospective, creative intelligence, so that bold new solutions to our planetary problems can emerge.
If I could, I would make The Upside of Down required reading for everyone on the planet. When it comes to defining the global crisis, it is by far the best of the following related books which I've recently read:
James Howard Kunstler, The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of Oil,
Climate Change, and Other Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-
First Century (2006)
Stephen Leeb, The Coming Economic Collapse (2006)
Chalmers Johnson, Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic (2006)
Sir Martin Rees, Our Final Hour: A Scientist's Warning (2003)
David Korten, The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community (2006)
Bill McKibben, Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable
Future(2007)
Raine Eisler, The Real Wealth of Nations: Creating a Caring Economics
(2007)
Jerry Mander & John Cavanagh, Alternatives to Economic Globalization
(2004)
Paul Hawken, Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Movement in the World Came
into Being and Why No One Saw it Coming (2007)
Lester Brown, Plan B2.0: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a
Civilization in Trouble(2006)
Paul & Anne Ehrlich, One With Nineveh: Politics, Consumption and the
Human Future(2004)
An Excellent Read.......2007-05-17
This book dispels myths about global warming and sets the stage for what may or could likely happen. It's not just about global warming, that is just one consequence of how we choose to live. I'm not sure if Thomas Homer-Dixon has it all, but his book is very well researched and referenced. It reads well and one of those books that you don't want to put down, even if that is the upside of down.
The Upside of Down.......2007-05-07
Homer-Dixon suggests that the current state of the Western world in many ways mirrors that of Rome prior to its fall. He argues that the increasing complexities of maintaining such a society as Rome contributed greatly to its demise. Speaking to some of the complexities of today's world, he addresses such issues as globalization, desolving energy sources, socio-economic disparaties, terrorism, and others, Homer-Dixon.
The Upside of Down is a fine negotiation of the many issues involved. Homer-Dixon demonstrates the interconnectedness of global events and issues while remaining optimistic. He answers the exreme optimism of writers like Thomas Friedman without being alarmist. He has also made great efforts to make this readable. I would recommend The Upside of Down to anyone interested in globalization, global warming, energy resources and the like.
Book Description
Bestselling author Riane Eisler (The Chalice and the Blade, which has sold more than 500,000 copies sold) shows that at the root of all of society's big problems is the fact that we don?t value what matters. She then presents a radical reformulation of economics priorities focused on activities of caring and caregiving at the individual, organizational, societal, and environmental levels.
Customer Reviews:
A good, but not great, book with an inspiring theme.......2007-09-09
I missed Riane Eisler's recent talk at the PARC Forum, but the abstract was so inspiring, I bought the book. As with many (all?) the other reviewers thus far, I support the basic notion of "caring economics": elevating the valuation of traditionally feminine activities such as caring and caregiving. I support partnership over domination (though don't know what to make of "hierarchies of actualization"), and the establishment of rules, tools and schools that offer a more comprehensive accounting - and accountability - within economics, that will incorporate the social and environmental dimensions more effectively, and eliminate "externalities" - costs that corporations can pass on to "external" stakeholders (as opposed to stockholders).
The other reviewers have done a great job at highlighting many of the positive aspects of this book. I wanted to offer a slightly dissenting opinion, based on three issues that bothered me. One is that I believe the book is about twice as long as it needs to be. There is considerable redundancy, and by the last few chapters, I found myself growing increasingly annoyed as she repeatedly repeated ideas and themes covered [well] in other chapters. As with some other books I've read, it strikes me as a potentially fabulous journal-length article that was stretched too far. A brief perusal of her paper on "Work, Values, Caring" available on her PartnershipWay web site suggests that this paper may cover much of the content in the book, in a much shorter space.
A second shortcoming I see in the book is a lack of reference to either Milton Mayeroff's classic work ON CARING or to Yochai Benkler's more recent paradigm-shifting book, THE WEALTH OF NETWORKS: HOW SOCIAL PRODUCTION TRANSFORMS MARKETS AND FREEDOM. The book is replete with many useful references, and every author must be selective about the references she or he includes, but I would think that either of the two aforementioned books would be required reading for anyone interested in caring economics.
The third shortcoming I see in this book is its rather pre-emptory dismissal of "selfish genes". I recently [finally] read THE SELFISH GENE, by Richard Dawkins, and although I like to believe in (and practice) altruism, I had to admit that Dawkins makes a compelling case for how and why our genes are selfish operators ... and thus why altruism doesn't make sense at the genetic level. Now, we are not our genes, and I like to believe we are more than simply containers for them to propagate themselves, and as our actions - and inactions - have increasingly far-reaching impacts on others throughout our increasingly interconnected planet, there may be good reasons why caring for others (who do not carry our genes) is worthwhile, and why we might want to give up domination for partnership. However, Eisler's quick dismissal of "selfish genes" in several passages leads me to wonder whether she's read Dawkins' book, or simply the other references she invokes that take a contrarian view. She seems to be attached to making "evolutionary" claims with respect to caring economics. I think the impact can be just as strong without invoking evolution ... and invoking evolution while summarily dismissing what I view as its most compelling modern articulation only weakens the impact.
I hope we will be willing and able to redefine economics to take into account the social and environmental costs and benefits that are currently ignored. I believe that THE REAL WEALTH OF NETWORKS offers some compelling arguments for how and why we can do this. I do not recommend that people not read this book because of the shortcomings I cited - I am still glad I read the book. I just wanted to offer a perspective that may be of some value to others who are considering the book, or at least to help set expectations (for anyone who shares my prejudices).
Brilliant!.......2007-07-19
Along with "The chalice and the Blade" and "Sacred Pleasure" this is the most profound, important and amazing book i have ever read - it changed my life! this should be a compulsory course at all self-respecting universities. Everyone in the world should either read or be aware of what these three books are talking about, then we'll not only have hope but a blueprint for a better world. i have half the mind to post it to our prime minister right now :)
thank you Dr Eisler, from me and all the people and future generations that will benefit from your determination, knowledge and work!!!
Very important book albeit with varying levels of practical application.......2007-07-08
This book was my first interaction with the work of Dr. Eisler and I was deeply moved by the concept of partnership and the need to place a higher value on caring and traditionally 'feminine' values.
The finance major in me was left very impressed at times, and rather disappointed at other times throughout the book. Dr. Eisler makes use of some great examples of companies that increase productivity, decrease turnover and breed hierarchies of actualization, specifically naming a software company that had daycare on site. She also discusses some great examples of how Scandanavian countries include fathers in the child-raising process, citing an example that requires couples having children take a combined 16 weeks off to care for the child and at least 6 of those weeks must be the working parent.
I was a little disappointed that she used life expectancy and GDP as measures of how well women were treated in different countries. Her point is well taken, but statistics betray her. She discusses France and Kuwait having similar GDPs, but France having significantly more gender equality thus yielding longer lives, etc. This specific example is true enough, but women are treated much more as equals in Scandanavian countries than they are in Japan, and yet they live longer in Japan.
She is rightfully very critical of executive compensation, short-term thinking, materialism and the ongoing dispute about what resources should be in public hands and which should be in private hands that plague globalization. She correctly points out that many resources and services can be most efficiently provided locally. As I turned the pages, I was hoping she would address some of the benefits of globalization, which in fact have gone a long way establish peace. Certainly the U.S. government worked hard to establish good relations with Pakistan and India, begging them to get along instead of prolonging the bloodshed over Kashmir. However, some of the greatest forces for good in that situation were none other than large, globalized communications firms with infrastructure and employees in both countries. Relative peace was brought about by these companies who provide employment and stability in these regions who had senior leaders sit down with government leaders and explain that their nervousness over their continued fighting would compel many investors to withdraw. Had Dr. Eisler mentioned this example (or countless others) I think she would have been able to more precisely point out improvements in globalization, rather than simply deducing that globalization isn't always the best solution.
Dr. Eisler's diagrams of the missing pieces in measuring economics was most insightful and useful, as were the statistics she provided that showed spending more education now equals spending less on prisons later.
Dr. Eisler risks alienating people who would be predisposed to be some of her most avid supporters when she takes excerpts out of religious texts and adlibs her opinions as if they were facts represented in the religious text. There is certainly no doubt that atrocities have been committed by those claiming religious titles, rights and missions, but even most of the examples she sites as the paragons of domination (the Taliban, the Ayatollah in Iran, Hitler and Stalin) are primarily secular in nature (the Ayatollah being the only religious figure). As a Christian, I will tell you that I want to vomit when I hear Falwell attribute 9/11 to feminism or Robertson attribute Katrina to tolerance of homosexuality. I will also tell you that 'love your neighbor as thyself' is very much a cornerstone of partnership (and there are many more examples of these).
Dr. Eisler is also rightfully critical of the Bush Administration and their unilateral foreign policy, preemptive warfare doctrine, fiscal irresponsibility and environmental 'blinders.' I agree with most of her criticisms, usually for different reasons than the those she mentions. Having read an interview she gave after 9/11 where she surprises the interviewer by indicating that war against terrorism is necessary, I have to wonder what her opinion is of how western countries should address Iran. It's certainly valid to criticize preemptive warfare, but what if one of the premier dominators in the world is pursuing a nuke? Do we wait until he gains equal military power? Do we allow him to disconnect his society from the rest of the world where women continue to be subject to circumcision and mistreatment if they are not sufficiently subordinate?
In this review I went to some lengths to justify my critiques, whereas I think my praise of Dr. Eisler's work speaks for itself. It may appear that I spent much more time discussing my critiques, and that is the reason why.
This book is by far one of the best I've ever read and I hope someday to see it included as required reading in grade school curriculums (3rd grade or so).
An excellent survey.......2007-06-17
Social scientist Riane Eisler provides a different approach to economics in THE REAL WEALTH OF NATIONS: CREATING A CARING ECONOMICS. Where Alan Smith's classic provided the first and lasting explanation of how modern economics works as a market-driven force, REAL WEALTH OF NATIONS goes a step further for college-level and business holdings, building upon Smith's concepts to show the real wealth of nations lies in the contributions of people and environment. The idea is that caring for people and the environment builds the real wealth - and he proposes a new 'caring economics' which moves from the microcosm of the household to communities and nature to promote new values beyond stereotypes. An excellent survey any college-level collection strong in social science will want.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
Knowledge is Power.......2007-06-09
Riane Eisler once again inspires and creates personal revolutions with her revelations. This book flows naturally from her previous work, something her readers await and rejoice. Intense insights and a trampolin for more adventurous change in the way we see the world. Highly recommended if one cares to think really differently. It gives you more than hope, it brings you a certainty that we can create a marvelous world together if we change our mindset. All based on sound science and well researched history or pre-history. No self help, only pure common sense. All the good words can not describe how intense this experience is. Just read the book and judge for yourself.
Customer Reviews:
Riveting.......2004-11-24
I come from rural America, where jobs are few. Duncan presents portions of my voice and she reveals how structural limitations continue to stifle many upright citizens who want to work, but can't find work in rural America. I would have liked to have seen more content analysis of the local media in the towns that Duncan studied.
Extensive research gives voice to some rural poor.......2004-10-01
Dr. Cynthia Duncan, Sociologist at University of New Hampshire, spent over five years (with some assistance from graduate students) conducting in-depth, life history-producing, interviews with 350 residents of two impoverished rural communities (one in Appalachia and one in the Mississippi Delta) and a more prosperous rural New England community. Dr. Duncan does not explicitly recognize any theory in this text, but she seems to work from a grounded theory method: giving voice to the rural citizens and letting the citizens have some ownership in guiding the study. There are also shades of conflict theory, especially when Duncan points out the local rural elites, although she doesn't discuss the 'power elites' (a la C.W. Mills and W. Domhoff). In this text we meet only 40 of the 350 interviewed citizens, and I thirst to meet more citizens and know more about their lives. We meet citizens of varying: gender, age, race, SES, and occupations. The text also presents a rich historical background on each society. I found the text to be most helpful when comparing and contrasting Dahlia and Blackwell (Appalachia and the Delta). The information on Gray Mountain (New England) was informative and interesting, but I didn't find it to be an effective community to utilize to compare to the other two communities. I yearn for Duncan to find a rural southern society that is comparable to Gray Mountain. Gray Mountain seemed to be on the edge of great change, and I would like Dr. Duncan to re-visit Gray Mountain, in a future study, reporting on the change (or stability) of the community.
Dr. Duncan spent nearly a decade in a tug-of-war as this text was edited down. There are necessarily (due to publishing matters) muted voices and hopefully these voices speak through Duncan's future works. Dr. Duncan is a devoted Appalachian scholar who has invested decades of her life trying to understand (and alleviate) poverty in Appalachia and the Delta. This text can serve as a beneficial introduction to her body of work on poverty. If this text inspires you, then also seek out Dr. Duncan's work in academic journals.
Ideology overrides reality.......2004-04-27
Duncan creates caricatures of the three communities she studied to promote a paternalistic liberalism that can only fail to resolve the very real social inequities she observes. Her portrayal of "Dalhia," a semi-fictive town in the Mississippi Delta, is rooted in widely popular prejudice: all the whites are rich, almost all the blacks are poor. In fact, half of the white families earn below $25,000 a year, and a significant proportion of white families earn below $10,000. Her small sample of "upper" and "upper middle class" whites shoved these people from view. A far higher proportion of African Americans are poor and very poor, but her characterization of whites as uniformly wealthy and privileged is a canard. In 2004, virtually all political offices in the region -- and specifically in these two counties -- are held by African Americans. Further, she views an old New England town as a model for democracy -- conveniently overlooking that it was founded as a company town, and that it has a still-dynamic economy. The economies of the Delta and the Appalachian coal fields relied on extractive industries. When those industries played out, no matter their prior civic culture, they were stranded. She could have gone to any farming or coal region and found similar distress -- and, even in Kansas, deep class divisions -- the residue of prolonged economic decline. The book is an easy read and addresses important issues, but is so deeply flawed it should not be used in the classroom.
another basis for false stereotypes!.......2003-01-29
This book once again takes a great minority of the Mississippi Delta and makes it look like it is stuck in slavery days! This couldn't be more untrue. I agree that the Mississippi delta is a poverty srticken area, but it is not as backwards as this book makes it seem! Duncan took a look at ONE small community here in the delta when the Delta is home to at least 4 of the largest towns in the state of Mississippi! If the book was better researched then it might be good but this book inaccurately portrays Mississippi!
Social Insurance & Economic Insecurity.......2002-10-25
The book Worlds Apart describes what life is like for people of different social classes in three different places in the United States. Blackwell* in the Appalachia, and Dahlia* on the Mississippi are two of these places where inequality is constant. Another place where Cynthia M. Duncan studies is Grey Mountain*, New England, where the opposite happens. Citizens are involved in local government; this helps to reduce class inequalities.
Duncan gets very in depth in discovering the roots of the problems of social inequality. Her research consists of visiting everyplace for an extended period of time, with dialogue from 40 of the 350 local people she interviewed in the book.
In Blackwell, she describes the everyday contempt the rich and poor hold for one another, and how neither side has any desire to meet in the middle. People in Blackwell are also distinguished by the job they hold. If you are lucky enough to hold a job, you become a "have", if you don't you become a "have not".
As the author describes, poverty and inequality situation is so drastic in Blackwell that a local pastor is forced to start weeding out candidates for Christian charity. He says everyday people come in and ask the church to pay for their groceries, gas, and other bills. Word has spread around the impoverished community about his good charity and he finds the numbers of his congregation rapidly rising. Duncan finds that experiences like this undermine community trust and reinforce community held opinions that the poor citizens scheme and manipulate the system.
Dahlia in the Mississippi Delta has similar class separation to Blackwell and contempt for one another. The book continues through Dahlia and Grey Mountain, New England. The New England section focuses on equality and civic involvement. Something unheard of in the previous two sections of the book.
The section after Grey Mountain, Northern New England is titled "social change and social policy". This section makes suggestions for solutions on how to combat the problems seen in Blackwell and Dahlia. The main point that Duncan is trying to make is that in order for real change to happen, a complete outside source is needed. One with no local ties or biases. Her suggestion is that federal aid come from the outside, where locals are unable to take advantage of aid, and aid is based on need rather than first come first served.
I suggest that before reading Worlds Apart, the reader look in the appendix and study the various trends. This will allow the reader to paint a more realistic picture of the three circumstances that Duncan describes.
* Real names have been changed
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Encountering Global Environmental Politics: Teaching, Learning, and Empowering Knowledge
Michael Maniates
Manufacturer: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
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ASIN: 0847695425 |
Book Description
This collection draws students into conversation about global environmental threats, the tenuous links between knowledge and power, and ways of acting powerfully in service of sustainability. Visit our website for sample chapters!
Book Description
Much of our experience with innovative approaches to governance at the international level involves natural resources and the environment. Whereas the Cold War bred an intense concern with the preservation of existing institutions, the emerging environmental agenda has prompted an awareness of the need for new arrangements to achieve sustainable human/environment relations. Especially notable is the growth of specific regimes to deal with matters such as endangered plants and animals, migratory species, airborne pollutants, marine pollution, hazardous wastes, ozone depletion, and climate change. Nonstate actors have made particularly striking advances in the creation and maintenance of these environmental regimes.
The contributors to this volume draw upon the experiences of environmental regimes to examine the problems of international governance in the absence of a world government. In the process, they address four central questions: Has regime analysis produced a distinctive conception of governance that can be applied to the solution of collective-action problems at the international level? Can we identify the conditions necessary for international "governance without government" to succeed? Does the emergence of regimes in specific issue areas have broader consequences for the future of international society? Can we generalize from experience with environmental issues to a broader range of international governance problems?
Contributors: Thomas Bernauer, Lee Botts, Helmut Breitmeier, Paul Muldoon, M. J. Peterson, David Reed, Olav Schram Stokke, Marcia Valiante, Konrad von Moltke, Paul Wapner, Oran R. Young.
Customer Reviews:
Thought Provoking.......2000-07-04
Something new is going on in the world today. The citizens of planet Earth are trying to solve -- or at least manage -- our common problems of a global nature. And, we're trying to do it without creating a centralized world government. The result is a hodge-podge of treaties, accords, regulations, and inter-governmental organizations that (almost) defy description.
This book takes a look at the international environmental regimes in this mix, and it tries to make sense of them. In the process, the reader can ponder a number of intriguing questions. Like, how is our notion of "national sovereignty" changing as the world becomes smaller? What is "governance without government?" What is the role of global civil society in the creation of international regimes? And, is it possible to measure the effectiveness of the various regimes?
In the end, the author and his contributors raise more questions than they answer, but that's to be expected. It just shows how much we have to learn about managing our world in a cooperative fashion.
As the title suggests, this books is primarily about governance and world order. Don't buy it if you're looking for a description of ecosystems and the natural environment.
But, if you want to learn about how nations, NGO's, and other actors are responding to environmental threats -- and if you don't mind wading through the academic prose -- this could be a good book to put in your shopping cart.
Amazon.com
Historians have well chronicled Mao Zedong's crimes against the people of China over his four decades of rule, but his crimes against the Chinese land have been less studied. Judith Shapiro, a historian at American University, tells that dark story with admirable thoroughness.
A central tenet of Maoist ideology was the rejection of both ancient Chinese tradition and modern Western science, both of which offered an ample store of evidence to suggest that rivers flow best when unimpeded, that biological diversity is a good and necessary thing. Instead, Mao Zedong insisted, the laws of historical materialism mandated that everything in creation be put into the service of the revolution: Forests had to be felled to make steel for China's industrial development, mountains had to be leveled to make room for agricultural fields, rivers had to be reversed in their courses to provide power and irrigation. Marshaling the people of China in campaigns to clear land and destroy grain-hungry birds, among other things, Mao remade the landscape in just a few years, ordering imperial-scale projects such as the Three Gorges Dam. His policies led to disaster, to deforestation, air and water pollution, and ultimately famine--but some of those policies are still in force.
Shapiro observes that Mao Zedong cannot be held entirely accountable for the destruction of China's land, water, and air; he had, after all, many willing deputies. Still, the political repression he put in place made resistance almost impossible--and even today, Shapiro writes in her impressive study of Mao's war on the environment, his actions have proved difficult to undo. "Until China confronts its uneasy Maoist legacy," the author concludes, "it may struggle fruitlessly to achieve a sustainable relationship with the natural world." --Gregory McNamee
Book Description
In clear and compelling prose, Judith Shapiro relates the great, untold story of the devastating impact of Chinese politics on China's environment during the Mao years. Maoist China provides an example of extreme human interference in the natural world in an era in which human relationships were also unusually distorted. Under Mao, the traditional Chinese ideal of "harmony between heaven and humans" was abrogated in favor of Mao's insistence that "Man Must Conquer Nature." Mao and the Chinese Communist Party's "war" to bend the physical world to human will often had disastrous consequences both for human beings and the natural environment. Mao's War Against Nature argues that the abuse of people and the abuse of nature are often linked. Shapiro's account, told in part through the voices of average Chinese citizens and officials who lived through and participated in some of the destructive campaigns, is both eye-opening and heartbreaking. Judith Shapiro teaches environmental politics at American University in Washington, DC. She is co-author, with Liang Heng, of several well known books on China, including Son of the Revolution (Random House, 1984) and After the Nightmare (Knopf, 1986). She was one of the first Americans to work in China after the normalization of U.S.-China relations in 1979.
Customer Reviews:
The death of an ethos.......2007-09-14
Even the most casual look at Chinese panoramic art over the centuries reveals an emphasis on nature. Every scene is embedded in nature, whether it be white-capped mountains, forests of tall trees, bubbling rivers that criss cross green plains, etc... Whether it is scenes of chinese royalty parading through villages, or chinese philosophers reclining in the countryside, the coexistence of man in nature is a central theme in Chinese history, art, and culture. Then came the 2oth century and the Communist Revolution in the 1940s. With Mao came a new modus operandi between man and nature, one that threw out balance and replaced it with one of exploitation. It is this exploitation that is the focus of this book.
The book was written by an American who has lived and studied in China for decades. The author has apparantly interviewed hundreds, if not thousands of Chinese citizens with bittersweet memories since the 1950s. These memories portray a society built from the top down, that is out of touch with its own geography and natural environment. The chapters of the book chronologically explore various episodes of Communist China's exploitation of the environment. Each one focuses on several individuals who tried to stop a specific government policy, but who were repressed and rebuffed. These policies include building of certain dams, cutting down of forests, and a policy of encouraging large families in the 1950s that presaged China's overpopulation in the latter half of the 20th century. Each time, Mao and his successors in the Communist Party encouraged policies inspired by nationalism and economic growth, but ignored common sense. Many of these policies were also driven by fear of the USSR and US.
The author writes the book in quite an objective tone, allowing her interviewee's comments to drive the book's opinion. The textual level is easy to understand, and appropriate reading for any college student. The book also comes with several dozen photographs taken of life in Communist China during Mao's time. The list of references is also quite impressive. All in all, this is a great book about China's modern history.
Descriptive, But Analysis Found Wanting.......2007-05-01
In terms of the historiography of China's environmental policies during the Mao era this book is certainly an important work. Shapiro does a great job of laying out the general trends of the policies concerning the environment during the Mao years, and this general framework is nicely complemented by anecdotal evidence. The thesis of this work is that governments and policies that victimize people also tend to victimize the environment. That thesis is convincingly supported by Shapiro as the book documents how environmental destruction was particularly pronounced during the political reforms movements that have become so notorious (the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution, etc.).
Unfortunately, this otherwise superb book has a major flaw for which I feel compelled to dock one star in my rating. Shapiro's final analysis concerning the changes needed in the future is simply weak. Throughout the book Shapiro criticized ideologies/philosophies that considered nature as something to be conquered. She also touches on how those ideologies/philosophies are often related to the modern world view of progress and materialism. I think she is absolutely correct in this part of her diagnosis.
Oddly, when it comes to her prescription Shapiro suggests what is essentially more of the same. She, of course, wouldn't see it that way, but she fails to refute the modern world view of progress and materialism. The answer, according to Shapiro, isn't a break from the ideology of progress but rather a progress that is tempered by the implementation of new technology and a sense of "humility". Well, humility would certainly help, but even a humility that at the end of the day still is primarily interested in material progress will end in the same types of environmental abuses that Shapiro is so sincerely concerned with.
The problem that Shapiro misses is that the modern world view is one which is societies are driven by the notion that history is (or at least can) progress toward some sort form of utopian reality. In the case of China the utopian reality is socialism/communism, but I would argue the nonconservative vision of capitalism's role in enriching the world is basically of the same essence. The point here is that this view of history and reality is especially pronounced in modernity. The predominant world view before modern times in Western Civilization, for example, was the Augustinian world view that considered this world as simply "growing old" and "passing away". According to this view, the world has no directional history; eschatological fulfillment is only found in transcendent history (aka, salvation by God). For more on this, see Eric Voegelin, Modernity Without Restraint: The Political Religions, The New Science of Politics, and Science, Politics, and Gnosticism (Collected Works of Eric Voegelin, Volume 5).
In any case, this was a valuable read that should be seriously considered as an addition to any modern Chinese history course, especially those with a focus on Maoist policies. Shapiro is a good writer and her anecdotes are very interesting. Her thesis is solid and well supported, though I think her final analysis could have been stronger. Four stars for a solid book.
Worth Every Penny.......2003-09-11
As a foreigner living in China, I found Shapiro's book extremely helpful in understanding the culture of one-fifth of the world's population. Shapiro did an excellent job of choosing several major examples of Mao's destructive impact on the country of China and her people.
One is unable to help but to be enthralled in her book. She is thorough in her treatment of the examples she chose and is able to record the information in an easy-to-read manner.
I recommend this book to anyone who is at all interested in history, even if one is just a beginner. Your eyes will be opened to realize how destructive an individual can be when their one major concern is their own pride.
Fascinating.......2001-08-25
This is an interesting book, and it is one that explores a theme that many ecologists and students of Asian anthropology have missed - namely the ecological destruction of Mao's China and the far reaching social consequences of this destruction. Judith Shapiro does an excellent job of documenting and exploring those aspects of government policy that wreaked absolute havoc on the environment in China under Mao's rule. This book is well written and well organized. What Judith Shapiro did not explore, and what I hoped she would - are the historical foundations of Mao's anthropocentric worldview - which are firmly rooted in Marxist ideology. In fact, ecological destruction in communist countries is commonplace - it stems from the inability of Marxist ideology to interpret the environment in anything other than purely exploitative, economic terms. Within this context, Mao's policies were not an aberration. I would have liked to see Judith Shapiro dig deeper into this realm.
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Marx and Nature: A Red and Green Perspective
Paul Burkett
Manufacturer: Palgrave Macmillan
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Binding: Hardcover
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Natural Causes: Essays in Ecological Marxism
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ASIN: 0312219407 |
Book Description
There may still be disagreement about the threat to human survival posed by society's environmental impacts, but no one can doubt that individual eco-systems and the global biosphere are both increasingly shaped by human production and consumption. This book shows that Marx's treatment of natural conditions possesses an inner logic, coherence, and analytical power which has not been previously recognized. The power of Marx's approach stems from his consistent treatment of human production in terms of the mutual constitution of its social form and material content. While recognizing that production is structured by historically developed relations among producers, Marx also insists that production as a social and material process is shaped and constrained by natural conditions, including the natural condition of human bodily existence. Paul Burkett shows that it is Marx's overriding concern with human emancipation that impels him to approach nature from the standpoint of materialist history, sociology, and critical political economy.
Download Description
There may still be disagreement about the threat to human survival posed by society's environmental impacts, but no one can doubt that individual eco-systems and the global biosphere are both increasingly shaped by human production and consumption.
This book shows that Marx's treatment of natural conditions possesses an inner logic, coherence, and analytical power which has not been previously recognized. The power of Marx's approach stems from his consistent treatment of human production in terms of the mutual constitution of its social form and material content.
While recognizing that production is structured by historically developed relations among producers, Marx also insists that production as a social and material process is shaped and constrained by natural conditions, including the natural condition of human bodily existence.
Paul Burkett shows that it is Marx's overriding concern with human emancipation that impels him to approach nature from the standpoint of materialist history, sociology, and critical political economy.
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Planning Local Economic Development: Theory and Practice
Edward J. Blakely , and
Ted K. Bradshaw
Manufacturer: Sage Publications, Inc
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ASIN: 0761924582 |
Book Description
Since the appearance of the
First Edition in 1990,
Planning Local Economic Development has become the foundation for an entire generation of planners and academics teaching planning. Building on the success of its predecessors, the
Third Edition continues to explore the theories of local economic development and address the dilemmas communities face. Blakely and Bradshaw investigate planning processes, analytical techniques, business and human resource development, as well as high-technology economic development strategies. Written by academics with many years of regional and city planning experience, this book will prove invaluable to professors of economic development, urban studies, and public administration. Economic development specialists in local and municipal government, as well as nonprofit organizations, will also find this an essential reference.
New to this Edition:
- Case studies, illustrations, and exercises demonstrate how each theory can be employed in a real-world setting
- Sample resource materials facilitate the development and design of program plans
- New arguments for implementing local economic development initiatives
- Thoroughly updated to reflect the financial boom of the 1990s and subsequent collapse, the policies of the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations, and the aftermath of September 11
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