Resource depletion and population pressures are about to catch up with us, and no one is prepared. Oil is running out and, if the Western world continues with its current policies, the next decades will likely be marked by war, economic collapse, and environmental catastrophe. The political élites, especially in the US, have shown themselves to be unwilling to deal with the situation, and have in mind a punishing game of ‘Last One Standing’.
There are alternatives. A ‘Powerdown’ strategy, for example, would aim to reduce per-capita resource usage in wealthy countries, develop alternative energy sources, distribute resources more equitably, and reduce the human population humanely but systematically over time. It could save us, but will require tremendous effort and economic sacrifice.
Powerdown speaks frankly to these dilemmas. Avoiding cynicism and despair, it begins with an overview of the likely impacts of oil and natural gas depletion and then outlines four options for industrial societies during the next decades:
Finally, the book explores how three important groups within global society - the power élites, the organized opposition to the élites (the ‘activist’ movements), and ordinary people - are likely to respond to these four options. Timely, accessible and eloquent, Powerdown is clarion call to urgent action.
Richard Heinberg has been writing about energy resources issues and the dynamics of cultural change for many years. A member of the core faculty at New College of California, he is an award-winning author of three previous books, including The Party’s Over, Oil War and the Fate of Industrial Societies (2003). His Museletter was nominated for the Utne Reader’s ‘Best Alternative Newsletter’ award in 1993. He lives in Santa Rosa, CA.
Surpassing even the state and the church, the corporation has become the core institution of the modern world. Although its impact is felt in virtually every aspect of our lives, we know little about its history and the origins of its power. Gangs of America fills the gap, tracing the evolution of this revolutionary institution through the behind-the-scenes figures who shaped it. Based on the latest research by academic historians, sociologists, political scientists, and legal scholars, this book is a unique synthesis including both compelling narrative and invaluable reference. Complex political debates about multi-national trade agreements, financial scandals such as the Enron debacle, and scores of specific issues are all tied intimately to the core issue of corporate power. Dealing with any of these issues requires an understanding of how law evolved in response to the revolutionary growth of the corporation. This book aims at strengthening popular understanding of the structural, legal, and historical roots of the corporate phenomenon.
Wealth inequality, corporate welfare, and industrial pollution are like the fevers and chills of the economy. The underlying illness is shareholder primacy: the corporate drive to make profits for shareholders, no matter who pays the cost. It's a form of discrimination based on wealth. It's economic aristocracy. In The Divine Right of Capital, Marjorie Kelly shows that corporations are built on six aristocratic principles (only those who own property can vote, for example). That work in the interests of wealth-holders and against those of employees and the community. Most importantly, Kelly shows how to use democratic principles to build a new corporate order that serves the many rather than the few. Newly updated with information that connects the book to current events - including the Enron debacle, other corporate misdeeds, and the crash of many stock prices.
Alternatives to Economic Globalization is the culmination of a five-year project by the International Forum on Globalization to define alternatives to the current corporate model of globalization. Written by a premier group of eighteen thinkers from around the world and edited by bestselling authors John Cavanagh and Jerry Mander, Alternatives to Economic Globalization lays out alternatives to the corporate globalization more fully, specifically, and thoughtfully than has ever been done before. This revised and expanded second edition provides crucial new information in three entirely new chapters covering: The global balance of power; The media; and What ordinary citizens can do about globalization.
The bottom-line mentality that drives corporations is creating a world unresponsive to human needs, corrosive to the democratic process, and destructive to the planet itself. Taking Back Our Lives in the Age of Corporate Dominance shows the links between our everyday struggles and the global corporate economy. It tells us how we can change things by transforming our lives. The authors use hard-hitting examples and illuminating personal vignettes about confronting fear, anger, death, family problems, and the stultifying effects of staying in the "comfort zone." They detail over 75 steps for personal and societal actions-some quick and immediate, others in-depth and long term-for retaking control of our lives. Deeply moving, outrageous, and inspiring, this book blends unrelenting candour with real-life stories of hope-and ultimately shows us that choice is the most important tool we have for reviving our lives and our world.
This new book is a call for regime change in the United States from the current dominant corporate regime. Charles Derber traces American history from the Civil War and finds that there have been five regimes in American society and politics. He analyzes the forces that lead to true regime change (such as structural contradictions in the economy and political system that the existing regime cannot solve) and shows why a true regime change is needed now and what can be done to hasten it before an economic catastrophe (such as the Great Depression) forces it to happen. In this provocative and timely book, Derber explains that electing a new president to replace Bush is a necessary step in ending the corporate regime, but a great deal more needs to happen to have a real regime change.