5 comments about Megatrends 2010: The Rise of Conscious Capitalism.

1. Megatrends 2010 is one of the best books on the market today - especially if you are interested in new ways of approaching old problems. The case studies and best practices that Patricia reveals prove that values, integrity, spirituality in the workplace - all help build profits. It's an easy read - informative and full of facts!
   Thank you Patricia Aburdene for pulling together such a great body of work!
   Ann Ranson



2. I'm going to start making my point saying that i bought this book because Megatrends 2000 just helped me so much understand the economics back then, and when this one came out i rushed in and bought it, and big disappointed. First there is one lady that helped write the first one as the only author, the cover is reddish pink, and for a "mega" is not a large book. She talks about spiritualism, moral, and ecology, which i agree and accepted them as future megatrends, but she could have written that in two or three chapters, but that's the whole book, and that's where the disappointment is.
   I asked myself if i was reading a economics trend book, or a spiritual book. She never talked about the euro boom, or the global warming as a social mechanism to push the entire humanity to a future of new technology advances and possible breakthroughs, there are too many topics to talk about as megatrends, but she focused in spiritualism a little too much(just the hole book.)
   She made the mistake of not seeing the big picture, and i bet she didn't spend a month writing this book. And that's what bothers me, because the first book was very useful, full of information in different sciences and very accurate.
   I guess is the editorial's fault for being so brain less and putting a solo person doing a team work job. She didn't even try to do some research...
   If there's a time machine invented i go back on time, i would read the book, write this opinion and i would remember to save the purchase ticket to return it(lol).
   Shame on you Patricia Aburdene.



3. I had first written a review giving this book 5 stars, which I deleted. Let me correct it now down to 3 stars, still giving this book the hopeful benefit of the doubt.
   
   After my first review I emailed the author who promptly answered. After the Wall Street debacle, I emailed her again, copy:
   
   "Dear Ms. Aburdene: Please allow me to ask your opinion about the current financial crisis in relation to the main theme of your work "Megatrends 2010". Is Gordon Gekko still around and much alive under disguise? Apparently the tech bubble gave birth to a, probably worst, housing bubble, undoubtedly based on the same old greed, that awful hydra. This bubble is just another emanation of the same root. Greenspan does not seem to be very comfortable with it either. There seems to be many new Dennis Koslowskis and Tycos as well, all of a sudden. I will appreciate your comments..."
   
   No answer this time. Could it be that the premise of "Megatrends 2010" is flawed? For what is happening today with the financial crisis is a typical example of greed run amok, and it is worst than before. What is the future of the so-called conscious capitalism? Food for thought.



4. I am very pleased with my order. The book was in excellent condition and was swiftly delivered.
   
   Thanks!



5. I am not happy of this purchase.
   
   The author is repeating the same things over and over again. Content does not include sufficiently of valuable information. The speaker has a very slow and calm tone of voice which makes it long and anoying to listen to.

5 comments about The War for Wealth: The True Story of Globalization, or Why the Flat World is Broken.

1. I love books, and I seem to find a new one to like every week. And yet, I can honestly say, this is the best book I've read in years. Few books have the power to encapsulate the meteoric economic and political changes that face the United States--and the world--right now. Gabor Steingart, a German journalist working in Washington, DC, for "Der Spiegel," has managed to come at just the right time with just the right book, "The War for Wealth."
   
   What makes this book so pertinent? First, it approaches the question of whether globalization truly benefits all. Unlike those who favor the open market who make the assumption that free trade helpa all, Steingart posits that globalization instead is leading to a redistribution of resources. Not all countries benefit equally. In this new world order, Americans are needed largely as consumers, not workers, who are financing their purchases on a mountain of debt.
   
   The expansion of the labor market as a result of globalization, in fact, has led to a decline in the value of workers. This has hurt Western nations the most. In the US industrial base alone, there has been a 50 percent decline in jobs in a single generation. Americans and Europeans are overpriced for the global market, not because of their wages (although this is a factor) but largely because of the cost of their social safety net.
   
   Who are the winners? Those in India and China, obviously. In China, those growth rates are even being understated by the Communist government so that the West does not even see the full extent of this unfettered development. Moreover, China has chosen a different, more insidious tactic in this economic war. As Steingart notes, "the Asians are attacking with economic weapons and avoiding ideological conflict. They do not conduct debates with the West over equality and justice, nor do they level any accusations or issue threats. The rising global powers are not interested in a battle of cultures. They are ignoring issues of religion and ideology. They are quiet adversaries who are placing their bets on economic efficiency. The West, they reason, can be defeated with its own weapons."
   
   Unlike many who see these problems, however, Steingart is not a protectionist, nor does he see globalization as something to be halted in its steps. He is not a fear monger. As an economist and journalist, Steingart knows that this is a trend that is not likely to be reversed. It can, however, be managed by savvy leadership and a willingness on the part of Western nations to work together. Steingart basically lays out three options: global chaos (the shock scenario), the rise of Asia (the Asia-above-all scenario, in which American dreams bite the dust), or remaking history (the American Renaissance scenario).
   
   How America and the West manage globalization, international trade, and the development of rules and regulations to even the playing field are critical to the continuance of the good life. If I could have one wish, it would be that both presidential candidates and their camps would read Steingart's book. This critical overview of the world and economic development today is something that every American should be thinking about as they approach the future.



2. Among the fairly simple, but politically difficult recommendations is to eliminate income based taxes and instead tax consumption. The US policy of taxing income of individuals and, especially corporations, effectively makes US products gives importers a free ride and makes US exports uncompetitive internationally. Taxing sales not only levels the playing field for US producers domestically and internationally, but also greatly reduces tax fraud and black market free riders.
   
   Eliminate the tax on savings and capital gains and odds are people would save and invest more.



3. Every American should read this book; the author gives a broader view about the world economy, and how we got to this point, where we have been losing jobs to the Asian countries: the causes, the consequences and what we can do to revert it.



4. I feel almost personally grateful to Steingart because he has written something I have always wanted to say, but couldn't possibly have said so well.
   
   The questions he asks on page 227, for example, have been troubling me for years. I beseech every American to pause and respond to these buring questions.
   
   "Did you really believe that you could live, in the long term, on borrowed money?
   "Who actually claimed that such a large nation doesn't need an industrial base?
   "Where are the men and women who made us believe that a negative balance of trade is a sigh of strength?
   "Why did no one on Wall Street sound the alarm bell when the U.S. dollar became eroded and lost intrinsic value for such a prolonged period of time?
   "Is it possible that no one could have noticed a country that was once the world's biggest lender selling off its assets to others?
   "How could the entrenchment of economic inequality in a democratic nation have been tolerated for so long?
   "What happed to the upward mobility that was once this country's trademark?
   "And, last but not least: why did democracy, which is supposed to react more quickly to malfunctions than other forms of government, fail so miserably?"
   
   As someone who genuinely wishes America well, it pains me to see this great country de-industrialized and become the biggest debtor in human history, reduced to begging more loans from foreign powers such as the Chinese Communist regime.
   
   My gut feeling is that it's too late to remedy the dire situation. I pray miracle happens. I wish to be proven wrong.
   
   By the way, Deng Xiaoping was never premier of China, as Steingart told us. His official position, when he did hold one, was vice-premier, though he was the paramount leader of the Chinese Communist Party from the early 80s. Chinese politics was bizare.



5. Globalization has had a strong, yet subtle, propaganda from both the "liberal" and conservative media in the last years. Just take a look at magazines Newsweek, Time and many others, but above all The Economist. They are always reminding us how important is that companies can freely operate globally. Fareed Zakaria, for example, wrote some weeks ago that while ipods are made abroad, most of the profits go to Apple. Good for Steve and Co. but bad for common people who don't own corporations. Instead, Mr. Zakaria chose to show off the startlingly low American unemployment statistics. As for web sites, go to the ultraconservative [...], which has a single one writer against free trade, Pat Buchanan.
   
   Gabor Steingart is one of the few writers who goes deeper that and exposes what holds the terrific unemployment statistics: part-time jobs (no matter how few hours a week), minimum wages and plain unemployed simply masked. We can even say it is as hard to get in those statistics as getting into an ivy-league college. According to the US Labor statistics, the minimum wage jobs are meant to be the main jobs sources by far and large in the next years. There will be like 600,000 opening for college professors and many others for college graduates, which all in all won't take the whole youth needing jobs. Yet, most of the media (both "liberal" and conservative) remain simplifying the issue and keeping repeating the great unemployment statistics and Wal-Mart prices (which are not so great either), just like a nazi general used to say to keep lying until people believe them.
   
   The news channels don't promote globalization as much, instead they distract us and focus on the oversimplification of the "culture wars" (both excessive liberals or conservatives, who are minorities in USA) , missing people (like 1 in 100,000) and most recently have only paid attention to the political campaigns and the financial crisis. These issues are surely important and still second in importance to the basic need of making a living, which globalization won't let us do. No matter how cheap a product can be as the propaganda always says, if you don't have a job you can't buy much, which is happening to more and more millions of people all over the 1st world, as Gabor well exposes.

5 comments about Forgotten Continent: The Battle for Latin America's Soul.

1. Would anyone writing for the Economist have an opinion other than demonizing Chavez' "populist challenge", condemning the "debt-ridden dictators" while defending Globalization as some kind of reform movement?
   Would he explain how the ultra-corrupt, pseudo-democrat President Menem took Argentina into disaster as Washington's Golden Boy? Would he highlight how the coup against Chavez, crafted and directed by Washington, was beaten back by popular and rank-and-file soldier support which continues today after a dozen FREE elections? Would he dare to mention the rapacity of numerous corporations against workers' rights, environment, water supplies, etc in virtually all countries in the region? Would he approve perhaps of Exxon (yes, that company which still has not paid for the legal damages it was assessed for its Alaska mishap) trying to embargo the wealth of Venezuela's national oil company? The Economist is a shrill for worldwide corporate rule and writers like Reid only do their best muffling the worst sounds of their injustice. That's the reason for the two stars: he is a very good at writing fine deception.



2. Michael Reid's Forgotten Continent is a tiresome repetitive report on the Economist's already well known distrust for Chavez and the rest of the Latin American left in the new Millenium. It is not academically researched or based on interviews and therefore is mostly an account of Reid's (and the Economist's) opinions on the region's center-left trends; the basis of which is that liberal capitalist democracy is the answer to everyone's woes. This is not a useful book for anyone wanting to know more about Chavez or the center-left trend in Latin America. I would recommend Ronnie Munck's essay in Twentieth-Century Marxism: A Global Introduction (2007) if you are interested in a short synopsis of trends in ideology for the left in Latin America.



3. Mr. Reid, a writer for The Economist magazine, arguably the best magazine in the world, delivers us an extremely concise, well-written book on a region that America turned its back on after fostering democratic reforms in the 80's, but one which has now been cast to the forefront of world affairs due in large part to the huge commodities boom, the flood of investment into their capital markets, leading to the emergence of a new type of 'Caudillo': the Hugo Chavez-esq 21st Century descendent of Fidel Castro, bolstered by the price of oil sitting above $100 per barrel.
   
   Mr. Reid adroitly explains to us the historical, political, cultural and ethnic differences between the countries in Latin America with just enough historical reference to make his points without getting the reader bored. Latin America, often viewed as a land who's ground is rich, but the places that have been blessed by nature have been cursed by history. But where John Perkin's conspiracy-theory-laden (but highly entertaining) "Diary of an Economic Hitman" blames the big, bad Gringo and our multi-national corporations and local (LatAm) corrupt politicians and a bureaucratic IMF and World Bank for the continent's centuries of under-achievement which the likes of Hugo Chavez have used to great success (and which have much merit), Mr. Reid takes Latin Americans to task and assigns some of the responsibility, at least, to them. This is a welcome balance to the overplayed 'dependency theory' heard so much today.
   
   Most Americans limit their knowledge of Latins to the illegal immigrants who bravely struggle to get here, doing the jobs that Americans won't while sending much of their earnings back home. Reid reminds of staggering facts: some as simple as Brazil alone being geographically as large as the continental 48 US states, and that in 1913, the standard of living in Argentina was higher than that of France, Germany, Italy or Spain. Buenos Aires was the 2nd largest city in the Americas after New York, had more sewers than Paris and more telephone service than Japan. Also, that by 1551, universities had been founded in Peru, the Domican Republic and Mexico, almost a full century before our esteemed Harvard University.
   
   Whether it be for a businessperson who is new to the region; or someone trying to understand the great undying dichotomy that is Latin America in almost all ways, Mr. Reid's book presents a timely but historically rich study on this diverse region, but never lets the reader's mind wander and does his work with skill and balance. Highly recommended.



4. Michael Reid's task in "Forgotten Continent" is onerous: in one book - a large one, to be sure - he wants to summarize two hundred years of a continent's history, and to argue that Latin America is now ready for a major change: the embrace of Free Market Democracy in earnest for the first time.
   
   The thesis of the book is simple: Latin America is torn between reformers - democrats who support free markets and democracy, and populists - who support neither. Reid argues that although the populists have considerable appeal in the region, the tide has turned against them. Unlike previous eras, the current embrace of democracy and capitalism - augmented with a great deal of redistribution policies - is here to last.
   
   Surprisingly for a journalist, Reid's history of Latin American, in three large chapters which take us from the 1820s to the 1990s, is cumbersome and hard to read. It is only when he gets to economic history that Reid, a correspondent for The Economist, hits his stride; A chapter on the development of the Washington Consensus is fascinating; I've read general economic accounts of 1997-1998 crisis (e.g. Paul Krugman's The Return of Depression Economics) and a specific study of Argentina's woes (Paul Bluestein's And the Money Kept Rolling In (and Out) Wall Street, the IMF, and the Bankrupting of Argentina), but Reid offers a continent wide survey of the economic liberalization program which started in the 1980s, and offers a balanced evaluation; Unsurprisingly, Reid, like the journal for which he writes, thinks that the reforms were largely successful and positive, and that the responsibility for economic failures in the countries of Latin America lies more in insufficient reform of their economies and institutions and hardly if at all in the malign influence of Wall Street, the US, and the International Monetary Fund.
   
   I was pleased with Reid's decision to dedicate a chapter to Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan President. I originally bought "Forgotten Continent" to a large extent in order to learn more about the man and the phenomenon. Unfortunately Reid's account, although informative about Chavez's biography (coolest tid-bit: did you know that Chavez has his own TV show in which he dazzles Venezuelan audiences for five to seven hours every week?) but did not really enlighten me about the overall significance of "The Chavez Revolution", for Venezuela, Latin America, or the world. Overall, Reid's conclusion corresponds to the views I held before reading his book: Chavez's Venezuela is less democratic and more corrupt than the very imperfect regimes that came before it. Chavez's entire regime rests on the high price of oil; once that is gone, Chavez, and unfortunately, his country are in for a rude awakening.
   
   Reid's focus is squarely on economics and politics. The chapter on the changing societies of Latin America is short and feels rudimentary. Reid touches briefly upon the region's press (becoming more liberal and open), religion (becoming more diverse, with a decline of traditional Catholicism and the rise of Protestantism) and race relations (becoming more complicated, as the previously hushed reality of racism is brought to the surface, unleashing various forces and counter forces), but doesn't do them justice.
   
   The heart of the book is the description of the struggle to reform: not only the state and the economy, but the law enforcement and education systems. That improving schools is a difficult job comes as no surprise; Investing in education is relatively easy, but making sure that the investment is productive is much more difficult (see William Easterly's The Elusive Quest for Growth: Economists' Adventures and Misadventures in the Tropics and The White Man's Burden: Why the West's Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good). The difficulties of reforming the law enforcement services owe much to the so-called "War on drugs": US pressure on Latin American countries to destroy coca production causes unnecessary resentment, and is unlikely to effect the availability of crack-cocaine on US streets - the high price of cocaine isn't due to scarcity but to the risks involved in moving it within the market countries, where it is much more heavily regulated (p.256). But beyond the inherent problems in reform, the main obstacle to the spread of effective, free market democracies is the weak economic performances of Latin America. Unlike China and India, which clearly enjoy the benefits of Globalization, the economic performance of most Latin American countries have been abysmal.
   
   Why has Latin America's economies (with few exceptions such as Chile) performed so badly? It's hard to say. The great differences in size, population, geography, system of government, availability of natural resources, etc, guarantees that challenges would always be launched against any single "one size fits all" explanation. Regardless of the cause, Reid argues that Latin America's improved economic policies in the 1990s and 2000s would lead to improved economic outcome, and thus the reformers (and not the populists) would win the "Battle for the Soul of Latin America". Let's hope he's right - a poor Latin America dominated by quasi-socialistic dictators, as in the 20th century, would be a grim reality for the 21st.



5. An intense and concsie study of latin America's political, economic and caste systems defined and discusssed. A very well thought out book.

1 comments about Can "It" Happen Again? Essays on Instability and Finance.

1. This great book is composed of thirteen essays restating and elaborating Minsky's great contribution to economics: the Financial Instability Hypothesis (FIH). The basic idea is that because the realized returns on any investment project are uncertain (and not merely risky), the contractual debts firms and entrepreneurs incur in financing these investments are inherently unstable. The "subjective state of expectations" will give rise to three different methods of financing: hedge, speculative, and ponzi. Hedge financing occurs when there are considerable margins of safety between fixed payments and *expected* returns. Speculative financing is defined by a project which over the course of its operations will generate *expected* revenue that will be greater than fixed payments, even though in the short-term these payments will be larger than initial realized returns. This gives rise to refinancing, which occurs if both parties to the agreement (lender and borrower) agree on the expected rates of return. Ponzi financing is a very unstable state in which the *expected* realized returns are not even sufficient in paying either the interest or principal on loans.
   
   Now one moves from hedge to speculative and then to ponzi finance according to the general mood of the market. If the market is experiencing a "state of tranquility," then the typical margins of safety that characterize hedge finance will be displaced by speculative finance which is still considered safe according to entpreneurial optimism. This is all subject to change, however. The performance of the market, interest rate changes, rapid changes in animal spirits, etc. etc. are all conditions which give rise to market instability.
   
   In so many words, this is basically Minsky's FIH. Minsky believed that this concept was a logical implication of Keynes' work, although he is careful to point out that the FIH stands on its own even if it is interpreted as being inconsistent with Keynes' message.
   
   Minsky is a pleasure to read and I recommend this book to anyone interested in "endogenous instability". Minsky believed that all market disruptions are *systemic* and not merely accidental. This sets his work apart from most professional economists.

5 comments about Between Memory and Desire: The Middle East in a Troubled Age.

1. If one tries to understand the present political situation in the middle east, one is left lost and wandering helplessly. This book helps us to to understand this situation by digging deep into the political past of the middle east , and succeeds spectacularly !!

   A definite read for all those interested in the middle east




2. In a calm and essayish sort of way, unbeholden to footnotes or fellow scholars, unbound by strict organization, he takes up some of the most difficult and persistent issues of the modern Middle East - the demographic and economic base, authoritarianism, pan-Arabism, "crazy states," military dictatorship, the role of Islam in politics - and analyzes them with intelligence and insight. Musing on three decades plus of studying the Middle East, Humphreys dares to assert the truths that so many of his fellow academics neglect, though he does so in the gentlest and most constructive manner. He takes up many themes; here is one, the dominant role of military dictatorship. Autocracy, Humphreys establishes, is the region's deepest and perhaps oldest dilemma. Already the warlords who quite rapidly took over from the Prophet Muhammad's successors lacked a sense of lawfulness. In the era A.D. 850-1250, for example, the "crucial political problem" facing those warlords was legitimacy - "some convincing reason (beyond brute force) why his subjects should obey him and his rivals should respect his right to exist." Sound familiar? It should, for the Middle East, the world's least democratic region, still grapples with the same demons (and they have names like Qadhdhafi, Asad, and Saddam). Middle Eastern populations, whether centuries ago or today, respond to this unhappy reality by withdrawing their allegiance from the authorities and turning instead for solace in the realms of religion and family life. This leads to a peculiar but widespread situation in which "Arab societies seem to regard their governments as an alien entity; they endure them, and they wait for them to go away." Trouble is, that stability becomes an end itself and has a fiercesome price. The preoccupation with staying in power means other goals - economic development, civil society, cultural florescence - are sacrificed. Take economics, where warlordism turns out to be the single greatest obstacle to advancement: "Only governments that enjoy the confidence of their citizens," Humphreys rightly observes, "can really take the steps needed" to enable growth. The Arabic-speaking countries not enjoying civil society, the rule of law, or many of the basic freedoms, they are falling ever-further behind in the brutally efficient global marketplace: "not one Middle Eastern state (with the partial exception of Turkey and of course Israel) has followed the only economic growth strategy that has worked since World War II - namely the export-oriented production of high-value-added manufactures." As a result, "there is not one Middle Eastern manufactured item that can be sold competitively on world markets."

   Middle East Quarterly, December 1999




3. Most of the books on the modern Middle East have axes to grind, and this book, say professors Jonathan Bloom and Sheila Blair, is the notable exception. Stephen Humphreys is one the HUGE names in Islamic history, and extremely well-respected academician at the University of California. His book is readable and unbiased. It portrays an intelligent picture of that part of the world that is still perceived very strangely by the many people outside it. (By the way, the previous reviewer, Daniel Pipes, is part of the same organization as Martin Kramer, who advocated removal of funding for Middle East Studies Programs. Pipes himself has just set up a McCarthyan website in which he keeps "dossiers" of any professors who might be sympathetic toward Islam and the Middle East and in which he urges students to report others. He's hardly objective.)
   
   So much of what's going on in the Middle East today is the result of recent history, and it's important to understand that history for any kind of modern understanding. This book discusses the politics, economics, social tensions, and religious issues that shape the character of the Middle East. Very recommended for anyone who wants to understand what's going on there and how -- increasingly -- it will affect us in the Western world.



4. I read the 1999 edition. It appears that the only difference between it and the 2005 edition is that the latter contains an additional 10-page preface, presumably commenting on 9/11 and the War in Iraq. I read the book recently, in 2007. It struck me as mildly dated and I regretted that particularly because it was so informative and insightful that I wished I was able to get the benefit of the author's knowledge and analysis of the most recent developments in the Middle East. If in fact Humphreys has not re-written or updated the text in the 2005 edition, that is unfortunate, but even so the book can be highly recommended.
   
   "Between Memory and Desire" is a sober, thoughtful, and objective survey of the social, economic, and political problems confronting the various countries and peoples in the Middle East. Humphreys identifies and then explores at moderate length such issues as a) unprecedented population growth in the Middle East, without anywhere near commensurate economic growth; b) historical reasons for Mideasterners' disdain for constitutional and parliamentary government; and c) the pervasive overlay of Islam and how, in different ways and to differing degrees from country to country, it affects the prospects for democracy, economic growth, the place of women in society, and human rights (as judged by Western standards). There also is a trenchant chapter entitled "Jihad and the Politics of Salvation". Humphreys takes pains to note and discuss separately, where relevant, the situations in different Mideastern countries. (In hindsight, much of the discussion of conditions in Iraq is remarkably prescient, and one can't help but wish the Bush Administration had shared and/or taken more into account Humphreys' views.)
   
   This is not easy reading. It demands careful attention, and seems most directed at a college-level audience, maybe even as an undergraduate or graduate text. But neither is the book unnecessarily dense or academic. For the type of hardheaded analysis of history, politics, economics, and social conditions that it is, it is very well written and presented. At the back, there are useful footnotes for those who wish to pursue certain issues in greater detail. Again, I recommend the book highly.



5. I found this an oddly pedestrian and listless book suffused with a sympathetic but apologetic and defensive tone about its subjects. The book's matter-of-fact, rather superficial and summary treatment of events of the past century maybe what some people are looking for. I was disappointed in the lack of historical vision, cultural analysis or presentation of data. It reads like a gentle argument against Americans or Westerners misreading the middle east. But it just didn't tell me anything new and offers no fresh perspective or narrative with any explanatory power.

No comments about China's Rise: Challenges and Opportunities.

4 comments about Spaces of Global Capitalism: A Theory of Uneven Geographical Development.

1. Harvey is one of the most influential theorists of our times. He has been doing some great work on global development issues. Some of his initial thoughts are recorded in a recent book called _Spaces of Global Capitalism: Towards a theory of uneven geographical development_. This is continuation of his earlier works - New Imperialism and A brief history of Neoliberlism. He repeats some of the idea in this smaller book, however, he is working on some new ideas. So if you haven't read the other books, this can be good introduction. However, to get a better idea I would recommend reading his other works.
   
   According to Harvey, uneven development is nothing new. However, extreme volatile geopolitical situation made it necessary for better theoretical interpretation. Harvey outlines four different ways currently we think of uneven development:
   
   1)"Catch up": In this paradigm uneven development is the product of the process from the center that leaves behind residuals from preceding eras or "meets with pockets of resistances towards the progress and modernization that capitalism promotes". He continues, "Backwardness (the term is highly significant) arises out of an unwillingness or an inability (in racist versions considered innate, in environmentalist versions seen as naturally imposed, and in culturalist versions understood in terms of weight of historical, religious etc.) to "catch up" with the dynamics of a western-centered capitalism, usually portrayed as the highpoint of modernity and civilization."
   
   2)Constructivist arguments: The focus here is exploitative practices of capitalism backed by political and military establishment of powerful nations.
   
   3)Environmentalist: Jared Diamond and Jeffery Sachs are one of the biggest proponents of this approach.
   
   4)Geopolitical interpretation: These interpretations focuses on territorially organized powers. "These powers can be organized as states or blocs of states but struggles also occur between regions, cities, communities, local neighborhoods, turfs etc."
   
   Harvey points out that there are many overlaps between these approaches. However, depending on the approach, the line of argument is can change. So he is trying to develop a "unified" theory of uneven geographical development. He proposes four conditionalities that is simple enough to aid comprehension and complex enough to embrace the nuances:
   
   a) The material embedding of capital accumulation process in the web of socio-ecological life .
   b) Accumulation by dispossession.
   c)The law-like character of capital accumulation in space and time.
   d) The political, social and "class" struggles at a variety of geographical scales.



2. Spaces Of Global Capitalism: Towards A Theory Of Uneven Geographical Development is a collection of essays about fiscal crises that have wracked the developing world, from Mexico to Indonesia, Russia and Argentina. Geographer and social theorist David Harvey criticizes the failings of modern capitalism, discusses the development of neo-liberalism, and searches for answers to the globalization of inequality in the essays "Neo-Liberalism and the Restoration of Class Power", "Notes Towards a Theory of Uneven Geographical Development", and "Space as a Key Word". Intended for scholars and students across the humanities and social sciences, Spaces Of Global Capitalism is a cogent and persuasive warning of the harm that can come from neglecting harmful worldwide geo-social trends, and is highly recommended.



3. "Spaces of Global Capitalism" by David Harvey consists of two presentations delivered at the eighth Hettner-Lecture at the University of Heidelberg in 2004 and a third related essay. These challening works are the product of a thinker who has spent a lifetime of cross-disciplinary study on the issues of capitalism, politics, geography and related topics. Intended principally for an academic audience, Mr. Harvey's research succeeds in providing guidance for others who may want to further explore these issues in the future.
   
   The first lecture, "Neo-liberalism and the restoration of class power" is by far the most accessible in the book. In essence a 62-page synopsis of Mr. Harvey's exceptional book, "A Brief History of Neoliberalism", the author convincingly reveals neoliberalism to be an ideology whose primary goal is to enshrine and protect elite power. Mr. Harvey's brilliant analysis connects growing income disparities with a concomitant rise in militarism and fundamentalism which he contends must be addressed with a revived popular struggle for democracy. The author's thoughts on this timely and important topic is quite simply essential reading.
   
   The second lecture is entitled, "Notes towards a theory of uneven geographical development". Mr. Harvey explores how developed capitalist nations of the north tend to exploit the periphery, creating a chronic state of underdevelopment for much of the global south. The author discusses the concept of accumulation by dispossession and how it is subject to changing conditions, including: market exchange, spatial competition, geographical division of labor, monopolistic competition, annihilation of space through time, physical infrastructures, production of regionality, production of scale, territorial systems of political administration, and geopolitics. The analysis opens pathways for other scholars who may be interested in applying Mr. Harvey's principles to specific case studies.
   
   The third essay included in the book is "Space as a key word." This seemed to be the most theoretical of the three and will probably be of greatest interests to specialists in the field of geographical development. Mr. Harvey shows how human practices define urban space and gives shape to architecture; for example, collective memory and political struggle are critical to defining culturally significant landmarks such as the rebuilding of ground zero in New York City. The author suggests that space must be understood from multiple perspectives and provides methodologies for others to consider.
   
   I recommend this demanding book for academics or persons who have a sophisticated understanding of geographical development. On the other hand, those who are interested in uneven development as it pertains to neoliberalism are encouraged to pick up Mr. Harvey's highly-readable "A Brief History of Neoliberalism" in order to fully appreciate the author's thoughts on this particularly important topic.



4. As is usual for David Harvey, this series of three essays considers the role of space at both the political economic and the philosophical level. The first two essays are speeches given as Hettner Lectures in Geography at the Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, the last essay is a reflection on space as a 'keyword' in the sense of Raymond Williams. Together, this forms a small booklet of little more than 140 pages.
   
   The first essay, "Neo-Liberalism and the Restoration of Class Power", is an overview of the resurgence of neoliberalism in recent decades, and the deleterious effects this has had both practically and in academics. Much of this is known to any leftist and the same sort of thing can be found in any radical blog.
   
   The second essay is "A Theory of Uneven Geographical Development". This essay is much more interesting and is basically a summary and example of the typical approach of Harvey in utilizing Marxist economical geography. This text can be considered an introduction to the subject, useful to look into before one would go on to read "Limits to Capital", Harvey's most important work of this kind.
   
   The last essay, "Space as a Key Word", is a philosophical analysis of the meaning of the word space, and its various dialectical aspects. This is in my view the most novel and contributive essay in the collection, as it builds on the work of Lefebvre, Einstein and Marx to construct a concept of space at nine different levels of abstraction. Two different matrices showing the intersection of these levels are provided by Harvey, sure to give inspiration for new thinking on this subject, which I think was the essay's main intent considering its shortness.
   
   Whether it is worth it to buy this booklet separately is hard to say. It can be quite useful as an introduction to Harvey's way of thinking, to be read before some of his real books. The last essay is also a good insight into a little discussed subject, the philosophy of space. But certainly purchase of this work is hardly necessary, any other Harvey book will do as well.

5 comments about The Great Risk Shift: The New Economic Insecurity and the Decline of the American Dream.

1. Now in a newly revised and expanded edition, The Great Risk Shift: The New Economic Insecurity and the American Dream is a no-nonsense deconstruction of how current American policy has been systematically shifting economic risk from government and businesses onto the backs of individual people. Health coverage has become increasingly expensive and difficult to obtain; social security is relentlessly under attack; job security is a thing of the past; and some of the greatest risks and investments - such as years of expensive college training to prepare for a specific career - can be thoroughly upended with a shift in the labor market. The overused mantra of 'personal responsibility' is all too easily twisted into 'tough cookies for you if your child gets sick and needs expensive hospitalization.' Personal anecdotes are sprinkled throughout, yet the core of The Great Risk Shift is a big-picture analysis supported by the latest statistical trends. From the need to return insurance to its original purpose - protecting the individuals who most need it against catastrophic loss - to the pitfalls of a so-called 'ownership society', The Great Risk Shift is both a cautious analysis of the present and a red flag warning of what needs to be done in the immediate future to fight back against specific policies that are demonstrably harmful to society as a whole. Highly recommended.



2. This is not the easiest book to read, but the subject should hit home for a number of Americans and it's well-done.
   
   Hacker shows how over time, government and corporate actions have led us to a point where just about every risk imaginable is being borne by individuals. Once upon a time, the government and corporations shared in the risk, but we're getting towards a point where that is not the case. With the stories he shares and the points he makes, one can see that it's no accident that stories abound of people who have lost just about everything - be it their retirement funds, their homes and any other savings they have. Oftentimes, something as simple as job loss due to a layoff or an injury/illness (not necessarily to the person, either, as a sick or injured child can do this as well) is what triggers it, and Hacker spends a good deal of time talking about health care since that's about as broken as anything in America.
   
   None of this, of course, has been talked about as much as the "prosperity" of the past few years in the American economy, one that was a house of cards and is now in loads of trouble that anyone with common sense could have foreseen.
   
   At the end, Hacker shares some ideas well worth considering. Cynic that I am, I don't expect our elected leaders to do that, especially as they've been bought by corporations left and right.
   
   The book is not always easy to follow, as Hacker makes extensive use of statistics and at times puts several together, and it at times has the feel of an academic paper being presented at a conference of some sort. But that's a relatively small knock, and it's a book every politician needs to read and probably won't (or they will just dismiss it because they're out of touch and don't have to live the lives ordinary Americans do).



3. As a political scientist, Author Jacob Hacker makes a terrible economist. For that matter, most economists make terrible economists.
   
   Hacker starts out by detailing the 30 year growth of financial insecurity in this country caused by a joint decline in public welfare benefits, and companies scaling back both benefits and jobs.
   
   According to Hacker, part of the reason for the government decline in public welfare benefits (unemployment insurance, Social Security, Medicare, healthcare, etc.,) is a so called movement by the Personal Responsibility Crusade that shifts the management, control, and risk to individuals. Throughout his book, Hacker attacks Personal Responsibility as a Vice, not a Virture. According to his reasoning, pride should be taken in how much you submit to the safety and security of a greater "risk pool," managed by the government. As such, individuals should surrender control of their lives to the government, who will act in their "best interests" to save them from themselves.
   
   Therefore, in Hacker's utopia, those who lack personal responsibility are freed from the consequences of their actions. With the state sheltering them, they are free to declare bankruptcy as often as possible, give birth to as many as babies as they want under Medicare, receive welfare checks and food stamps, and generally consume much more than they produce.
   
   Another theme in his book is an old socialist favorite, attack the rich who have succeeded, and bemoan income inequality. Great. While we are at it, let's make all the beautiful people in this country wear masks to hide their faces - so we are equal. Let's give lobotomies to all the smart people - so we are all equal. Let's put a ball and chain on all the sports people so they can't run fast. Let's make everyone wear a fat costume so there are no more skinny people. (see Kurt Vonnegut's short story, Harrison Bergeron, which is being made into a movie: 2081)
   
   IN his conclusion, Hacker proposes, what else, more big government and more expenditures, especially for Medicare. Medicare must be grown and nourished until it dwarfs all other programs.
   
   But being of the leftist, Socialist persuasion, Hacker's book TOTALLY IGNORES some non-partisan, non-disputed facts about our American Financial picture. (The Neo-Cons conveniently forget it as well). The quote I am about to give you is neither Republican or Democrat, It's non-partisan and not disputed much by either political party.
   
   In the words of Dallas Federal Reserve President, (our Central Bank), ..."Medicare liabilities are added in with those for Social Security, the unfunded liabilities grow to $99.2 trillion. After adding in the direct debt obligations from its borrowings, the total government debt is $110 trillion, which is twice the amount reported in the government's annual consolidated accounts."
   
   What are they talking about? Simply, when the 75 million baby boomers retire, the Federal Government (Tax Payers) will have to pay Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits of $99.2 Trillion. Add to that current $11 Trillion debt, and that figure goes to $110 Trillion. Plus, if you add in the $2 Trillion that was REMOVED from the Social Security fund (to fund other garbage, and replaced with...this is pathetic... IOU's), we actually owe $112 Trillion.
   
   That both Republicans and Democrats choose to ignore and jeopardize all citizens by pretending this debt does not exist - is a crime to all Americans. As he calls for more Medicare spending, Mr. Hacker's willful neglect of these figures is a disservice to the reader, who he should be more loyal to for shelling out $15.95 to buy his book.
   
   That number, $110 Trillion (plus $2 Trillion in IOUs) is not going to go away on it's own. With a $11 Trillion a year economy, it would take 100 percent taxes, with zero government expenditures, for 10 years to pay it off.
   
   There is a non-partisan movie and book coming out which details this problem in greater depth, called I.O.U.S.A by former Comptroller General of the USA, David Walker and financial writer, Addison Wiggin. Until you reconcile this problem, all other proposals, like Hacker's, are irrelevant.



4. Hacker is being touted as a prophet with the recent bail outs and Wall street woes with Lehman, AIG and the subprime fiasco: individuals CANT manage their own money after all, Hacker was right, yes? Hannah Arendt is turning over in her grave at two subtle miscues: reaction and received opinion.
   
   Personal responsibility vs. totalitarian control comes down to one simple bad assumption: that government is any less corrupt or any more smart than Wall Steet. The Soviet economy collapsed (the first time) over a tripart deadly combination of excess military spending (with no related revenue stream), a central command economy with no price signals (the free market's central value in a global economy: no human "team" on earth can keep up with the speed or complexity) and, of course: corruption. Does anyone really believe that a roomful of bureaucrats in DC can manage any better than a roomful of traders on Wall Street?
   
   Are they less stupid or less corrupt? The lynchpin is ethics in making any balance between individual responsibility for investment and government control and regulation work, and it's sadly lacking, and there are not enough resources in law enforcement or at OMB to police individual ethics, they have to come from within. Neither party has really talked in detail about interfacing risk sharing and safety nets with global trading and ethics, they, and Hacker, miss all three points of ethics, price signals, and excessive defense spending.
   
   Reaction is the mother of all screw ups, whether in a marriage, or a social contract. Reaction to terrorism creates crazed defense spending. Reaction to simple markdowns to market creates trillion dollar bailouts. Reaction to bad individual investment choices creates huge new regulatory bureaucracies. This creates the insane pendulum that can't find the moderate balance, and the divisive conflicts between partisan policies.
   
   Hacker, as a Clinton insider, has to take a position, and is being touted as "prophetic" with the 2008 corrections. Give him his due, but watch for the next catastrophe when the overreaction creates multi trillion dollar offices filled with government bureaucrats trying to play Wall Street gurus. A whole new generation of GS 11's is what will save us! Then, we will dig up the death-by-regulation Caterpillar Tractor quote from 1970 "When small men cast long shadows, it is a sure sign the sun is setting." The bad assumption in the coming reaction is that the GS crew will be any more ethical or competent than the greedy Streeters! Does anyone really believe that? BTW, who underwrites Hackers "Insured Society" -- Lloyd's, GE Reinsurance, or AIG? Sorry, Jacob, risk is there, and every solution involves shifting! You can't afford war, a welfare state AND a huge dept of govt. risk managers-- quality, service, price-- pick two. Sure, it's easy to say forget war: until Israel and Iran go at it, and the ancient dream of the Russian czars of a warm water port becomes a reality. If God were playing a chess game intended to relegate the U.S. to history, this latest pendulum swing would be a brilliant move.
   
   Is this worth reading? Yes. Does it provide a balanced view? No. Does it miss a key conclusion? Absolutely: the assumptions of competence and ethics in big government are glaring, and the economic effects of regulation on businesses and resulting job creation are skimmed over. Look at the relationship of Siemens and the German government: shared assignments and interlocking jobs. Success? No, the global economy will have its way. What about Japanese companies with access to M1 creation and their own government banks? Nope, the global economy trumps them again. Look up the word PARASTATAL on Wikipedia. It is VERY well known in Europe and Japan, but very novel and unstudied here in the U.S. Both German and Japanese economic literature have a lot more reservations, and a lot more research, on the parastatal structure than we do in the US, but will that stop DC from launching right into it? Oh, wait, we just did...



5. Proof that anyone can publish a book! Mr. Hacker's Logic is far out of touch with the today's global economy and in my opinion against the principles that America was founded upon.
   
   A quick summary: You are not responsible enough to manage your money so let the federal Government take more of your money and give you less back so that you become DEPENDENT on them and their social programs. This way you will vote for democrats who will PROMISE to give you better social programs because the inefficient and poorly managed programs(that they created) do not work for you now that you are dependent upon on them.
   While we are at it lets forget the capitalistic system that does horrible things like "encourage entrepreneurship, individual responsibility and accountability" (pg 67) and all become socialists!

5 comments about Consumed: How Markets Corrupt Children, Infantilize Adults, and Swallow Citizens Whole.

1. If your wanting quality information regarding the effects of markets and globalization then you should pass over this book. It amazes me how this individual was able to get this book published as it presents no new arguments. If you want revelation, insight, and/or documented work, then search for Greg Palast or any other author.
   
   I have a compulsive need to finish what I start and I've forced myself to read books before. However I was not able to finish this book for several reasons. The most annoying aspect is the authors choice of words. It's PAINFULLY obvious this book was pushed thru a thesaurus. It's also disappointing that a lack of proof or references of conclusions is presented. Honestly folx, save your hard earned dollars and buy something more useful than this book, like gas.



2. The title of my review would probably serve as a better title for the book. But alas...
   
   Benjamin Barber's primary thesis in Consumed: How Markets Corrupt Children, Infantilize Adults, and Swallow Citizens Whole is that marketing that reinforces adolescent behavior in adults and seeks to make children more usable consumers. This marketing is continually reinforced by a privatized capitalist system that undermines civil liberty and citizenship at the expense of consumer behaviors. It is, in the end, a system that causes people to become non-citizens of a commonwealth, but consumers who are at the whim of the corporate sector in society.
   
   I share with many (who note errors that have clearly been corrected if they existed in the first printing) that Barber could have condensed his argument and made it more transparent this way. But that after a relatively quick read (it's not loaded with the scholarly aplomb and density that some reviewers have ruled in its disfavor) I was able to get the point and it remains a rather visceral and salient one. Starting with Weber's argument and then drawing lines to where the value foundations of capitalism have strayed is instructive and pragmatic.
   
   What I like is that he finds common strands in much of the literature regarding consumerism and globalization that have been very popular, e.g. Friedman, Schor, Klein, Barry, Lasch, etc. But he does this by couching it in very important political terms in order to examine the effect of private capital on his notion of "strong democracy". to this degree, it reads almost like an updated "Culture of Narcissism".
   
   He does have several errors he or at least his editor should have picked up before it went to paperback. He calls Terrell Owens a running back, Michael Stipe a producer, etc. But who cares about these points other than pedantic reviewers who would rather trivialize the argument. Moreover, the solution proposed at the end of a global society founded by global citizens does not seem plausible. He fails to account for the tribalistic tendencies that react against forces of globalization that authors such as Malcolm Waters have noted. So the end is as flat as Friedman's thesis of globalization which Barber largely argues against.
   
   Much of the material is very well trodden in the literature. However, Barber's analytical skill is quite incisive and he is able to gather new syntheses of previous material to suggest that this is far more of an important issue for our social makeup than a diatribe against gluttony or material envy could muster. And to this end, I say well done and worth a read!
   
   Be sure to check out Benjamin Barber's blog here. There you can find some of his thoughts in often nascent stages.



3. Barber is to be commended for understanding how capitalism thrives at the expense of certain traditional values. In the early part of last century, the US Commerce Commission issued a report to the effect that industrialization had become so productive that the real worry was to have enough buyers out there to lap up all the stuff. What was needed, accordingly, was an undermining of traditional values of thrift and sacrifice. If those values continued, capitalism would fail.
   
   Barber's book notes this attack and its radical overturn of such religious (Christian/Protestant) values, including the need to save money. (Today the same fight is happening in China where Chinese, inveterate savers, are being urged not to.) I also think Barber is very good in describing how this mania for acquisition of ever more stuff is linked to an advertizing culture that infantilizes people and turns citizens into consumers who experience freedom not as a political virtue but as an exercize in the commercial activity of choosing a product. Thus democratic practice evaporates into the shopping experience where we "decide" what to buy. Thus candidates are "sold" and a marketing vocabulary permeates so much of what we say, think, and do.



4. Barber is adept at observing and brilliantly describing the symptoms that face our society. But unlike a gifted medical doctor, he is not so competent at finding the source of the symptoms, let alone providing an effective cure. Yes, our society is a runaway train headed for destruction, but what can we do about it?
   
   Having worked for years in the advertising industry, I can tell you that the manufacturing of envy, desire and wantonness is in full swing. Our culture cannot withstand much more of it. But the answer that eludes Mr. Barber is not found in the writings of philosophers or economic engineers, but on the hearts of our citizens.
   
   Why do the messages of the advertisers work so effectively? I can tell you as a former copywriter paid to write radio, print and tv, we were never thinking about the products alone, supply and demand, or economic theories when we designed ads. We were concentrating upon the human beings to whom we were speaking. What were their fears? What were their struggles? What makes them feel better? What do they think in their daily routine? We would often spend hours listening to them in focus groups. We would write stream of consciousness monologues trying to connect with them and their needs.
   
   The truth is, Mr. Barver's measurement of our culture and its ills, is razor sharp and accurate to the micrometer. But as he begins to discuss solutions to the situation, the heart of "Andy Consumer" is lost and he begins to pontificate upon the ideas of society and particular reactions of larger movements. Like many intellectuals, he misses the point that change doesn't begin with philosophers or kings. It begins when philosophers and kings begin to listen to the pulse of Andy Consumer and they then begin to speak to the heart-cry of the society. History tells us this is the case. Because when enough of the individuals feel the same way and yet do not believe that the philosophers and kings are not listening, they take matters into their own hands.
   
   My point is this: Barber's solutions ring hollow because they are rooted in theories and economic history. But I believe that hyper-consumerism will be conquered when the hearts of our citizens are painfully empty after their futile attempts to force their wallets and gadgets to fill them. As those empty hearts peek behind the curtain and confront the wizard, they will make realizations that will make a difference.
   
   While I didn't agree with the solutions in the book, I was transfixed by his observations of our current situation. This book should be read by anyone interested in the direction of our society. I used this book extensively in my weekly podcast, Christian With a Brain. It gave me bountiful material for a study called, How Much is Enough? I just hope that Mr. Barber will eventually realize that until the human heart is filled with hope, meaning and destiny, we will continue to try and fill it with the latest and greatest. And there will always be advertisers out there willing to exploit those empty hearts in order to make a buck.



5. If there is a way to write a thesis about our consuming habit, this book brings you high on the ladder of conspiracy theory. Never the less the thesis is plausible and it gives us a good understanding of the nature and the root of capitalism and its impact on the future. One question though remains unanswered, what than to do?.....

5 comments about Sex, Economy, Freedom & Community: Eight Essays.

1. This highly stimulating collection of Berry's essays contains some of the most important things Berry has written. The essay "Christianity and the Survival of Creation" is one of the most insightful and important theological statements of our day. It is in everyone's best interest to work to see that the organized churches take Berry's essay to heart. Of course, the book is also notable for the beauty of Berry's writing -- not coincidental, since he argues here and elsewhere for a recovery of the idea of work as sacred and for beauty as a measure of "right livelihood."



2. ...thinkers I was exposed to in high school while researching for an essay report. His well-balanced thoughts on various agrarian and community-based themes are the most eloquent I have found from a single writer. His words and rationales spring from the land and argue pursuasively for more restraint for the betterment of the world by the human animal. The most compelling living philospher I know of is Wendell Berry. I recommend all of his written works.



3. Every day it seems the world looks a little more broken to me. It helps so much to read a few pages of Wendell Berry. He is a fantastic example of someone who thinks for himself; and really strives to get to the core truth about the important issues we face as a civilization. It should be required reading for everyone in the United States - IF we want to get on a path to restoration and healing of our society. But that's where the scary part comes in. I'm beginning to think people would put this book down and give up on it a few pages in. Even if they did get all the way to the end, not many would be willing to put the ideas into practice in their daily lives.
   
   I picked this selection for my book club, and it was very interesting to watch the responses of the participants. You could sense the tension - watch them wiggling in their chairs. They were so relieved when we were finally done with the book; and not because it was poorly written; just because it requires an examination of how far we've all fallen from what is true. I will continue to encourage people to read this excellent and important book, but it will never be an easy sell...and that's a shame.



4. This, I think, is a difficult book to review. There are so many diverse themes throughout the book that it is hard to describe what the book is "about", and my reaction to the book was a mixture of excitement, personal conviction, and intellectual challenge. Yet, hopefully I can get something coherent down for you.
   
   The book is a collection of eight essays written by Berry, all of which deal (sometimes loosely) with the degradation of community. "Community" is a term of art for Berry; it is more than merely a group of people living in close proximity to one another who happen, from time to time, to bump into each other at the store. Rather, community is a defined group of people who live together in a particular place, over time, in a way that fosters a strong sense of togetherness. People who have this type of community have experiences together in everyday life, such as work, play, tragedy, and joy. In community of this nature there is a sense of belonging that most Americans today would not be able to relate to.
   
   Berry is not the only intellectual (a label I would guess he'd hate hear applied to himself) to suggest not only that our communities are deteriorating, but that this deterioration adversely effects the quality and essence of our lives. For a more empirical approach to the subject, see especially Bowling Alone : The Collapse and Revival of American Community by Robert Putnam. I think when Berry's book is read in light of Putnam's we see not only a picture of the problem but also a recipe for the remedy.
   
   Berry is a challenging author. He is at times very radical, and he sometimes employs demagoguery to press his point. However, when taken as a whole he approaches his topic from a position of humility and honesty. There is even a sense, after coming to grips with this humility and honesty, that Berry comes to his subject with righteous indignation. He is clearly passionate about small, rural communities like his own, and his passion easily rubs off onto the reader. After reading this book, I feel like I have a heightened sense of compassion for people who are trying to keep their communities alive.
   
   This book is probably not for everyone. I would recommend it to people who already have sympathies for the rural, self-sufficient lifestyle and those especially who have concerns for the quality of our environment (a topic that Berry hits upon numerous times). This is not to say that this book cannot change minds. However, many people who read this book from the point of view of an average modern American will dismiss Berry's ideas as utterly and hopelessly out of date. This is because Berry criticizes the way in which most of us (including himself, he admits) tend to live our lives. It takes a special intellectual state of mind to read such a book, in which you are being criticized, and keep an open mind. I hope that, if this book is for yourself, that you do keep an open mind, and allow Berry to convince you that he is right, and to show you a better way. Happy reading!



5. This is the first Wendell Berry book that I've read, and from the introduction, I found it to be an immensely interesting and engaging read. I was amazed at how skillfully Berry could take complex social issues and boil them down into bite-sized (read: understandable) pieces. I typically wouldn't find myself being overly interested in a collection of essays like this, but needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised by the enjoyable read.
   
   The one element of this book that was hard for me to swallow was Berry's overly idealistic view of people and communities. Granted, significant changes to the current social, economic, and agricultural systems would most likely have to begin in the mind of an idealistic individual, but I felt like many of Berry's arguments rested solely on the inherent goodness of people as a whole. Here's the core problem - individuals act in their own self interest. People are selfish.
   
   This is still a worthy book to read, however, and can bring about fantastic discussion. (I may be frequenting a farmer's market now, as a result of his arguments...Just trying to close the distance between producer and consumer!) Read it and wrestle with it.