The Silent Takeover: Global Capitalism and the Death of Democracy Review

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The Silent Takeover: Global Capitalism and the Death of Democracy ReviewWe sometimes catch a glimpse of "anarchist" protesters and heads of state at global economic summits, but many of us lack a comprehensive view of the process of globalization. Depending on what papers you read and how closely you read them, your view of globalization may be more or less informed, more or less ideologically biased, but is most probably lacking in some aspect. This book brings it all together in a timely and accurate historical tale. Hertz starts by identifying certain realities and discontents: corporations getting larger and larger everyday through mega-mergers; a widening gap between the rich Haves and the poor Have-nots; fewer and fewer people turning out to vote, as more and more people, from Seattle to Genoa, hit the streets in protest of profligate politics and out-of-control business. She then focuses on one of the major causes of these problems: the government's mad-dash to "liberalize" and deregulate their control of commerce and industry. In other words, the private sector is set free and the state withers away in every capacity -- except insofar as campaign and lobby contributions purchase the last of our "representative" influence in the political sphere. The picture this book paints is nothing less than the hijacking of our democratic political heritage by large, increasing global corporations who pay no homage to local people, public health, labor rights, environmental degradation or national sovereignty -- and, conversely, the shrinkage of our government to the role of a corporate nanny, whose primary function would appear to begging large corporations not to flee to the Third World with large, tax-fed subsidies and lax environmental codes. Very concisely worded, accurately and appropriately referenced, the book will serve as a solid companion to anybody interested in understanding where the last 50 years of scandal-ridden politics and unfettered business have landed us. By no coincidence was "The Silent Takeover" The Sunday Times' book of the year and a best seller in England. Apparently, it has now been translated into French, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Korean, Portuguese and Japanese.The Silent Takeover: Global Capitalism and the Death of Democracy Overview

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Corporation Nation: How Corporations are Taking Over Our Lives -- and What We Can Do About It Review

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Corporation Nation: How Corporations are Taking Over Our Lives -- and What We Can Do About It ReviewLike another recent book, "Opposing The System" by Charles Reich, this effort by sociologist Charles Derber takes aim against the elitist and anti-democratic influence of contemporary multi-national corporations. Noting that corporations have so invaded the social, economic and political arenas of life in modern postindustrial societies that it is problematic for an individual to live a free and meaningful lifestyle without surrendering vital parts of his liberty and free choice to the whims and caprices of corporate policy. Thus, Derber claims, corporations have transformed the meaning of citizenship into a silent euphemism for corporate membership, and the society tends to identify loyalty to these organizations as a sort of patriotism (buy American).
This is an interesting and entertaining reading experience, and Derber's thesis is similar to and compatible with a number of other contemporary social critics like Reich, Neil Postman, Bill McKibben, and Kirkpatrick Sales. To the extent the rise of multinational corporation to a position of nearly exclusive domination of world markets with the new "global capitalism" (touted by politicians as the best thing since sliced bread) continues and endures, to that extent will our lives be increasingly influenced and characterized the kinds of choice these corporate entities view to be in their own narrowly conceived and fundamentally anti-democratic goals and objectives. Thus, to an ever-greater extent, these corporate entities are empowered at our expense to influence, manipulate, and even dictate the specific terms of social, economic and even political transactions within and without our borders.
Probably this single greatest recent example of this trend were the actions by the U.S Congress to ratify both the NAFTA and GATT trade treaties, whose main beneficiaries were multinational corporate entities. There was little or no meaningful national debate,And most Americans were so distracted by their petty personal pursuits of money, material goods, and the good life that they hardly paid any attention to all this happening under their noses. Rather than focusing on these issues, the national electronic media chose to cover other non-news events like the Michael Jackson child molestation charge, the OJ Simpson trial, the Louise Woodward trial, the Monica Lewinsky scandal, etc. Meanwhile, the corporations achieved their goals, and the future of American worker was sealed. All this transpired without any meaningful or informed public debate. And isn't it quite a coincidence that the electronic media in this country is owned, lock, stock, and barrel by several different multinational corporations.
The author offers an alternative by way of what he terms "positive populism", by which he then outlines an alternative approach to re-engaging the American public in a self-enlightened attempt to regain control of their lives and future through the available political process. This is an interesting, provocative, and often entertaining book, well written and well argued, and one which will engage the reader in a thoughtful process regarding the nature of our contemporary situation vis-à-vis the powers that be. I highly recommend it. EnjoyCorporation Nation: How Corporations are Taking Over Our Lives -- and What We Can Do About It Overview

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A Game as Old as Empire: The Secret World of Economic Hit Men and the Web of Global Corruption Review

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A Game as Old as Empire: The Secret World of Economic Hit Men and the Web of Global Corruption ReviewJohn Perkins' ground breaking expose' of the economic machinations and collusion of multinational corporations, high levels of government and the international banking institutions and their brutal exploitation of third world countries in his popular text Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, sent a ripple of concern through this highly corrupt elite community, however mainstream publishing and media chose to ignore these disturbing confessions, wanting proof other than Perkins text. As Perkins states in his introduction in this sobering and informative text, A Game as Old as Empire,
"Eventually a courageous independent publisher, Berrett-Koehler, took the book on. Confessions success among the public astounded me. During its first week in bookstores it went to number 4 on Amazon.com." (P.2)
Despite being on the New York Times best seller list for 25 weeks, The Times refused to review it. (Much later the book was featured in the Times Sunday Supplement) The fact that the book implicates the highest echelons of government and corporations, including the IMF, WTO, World Bank, U.S.A., Britain and the "G8" countries deeply involved in money laundering, tax evasion and environmental disasters that turns one's stomach, never mentioned in the main stream media, reveals the appalling extent of this corruption.
A Game as Old as Empire is a collection of essays by investigative journalists, EMH's, academics, practicing lawyers, scientists and writers exposing the extent of corruption in the exploitation of developing countries; for example lending billions of dollars, raising debt, knowing full well that particular regimes were pocketing the cash, opening off shore accounts, while the regime's country falls further into abject poverty, then to lend more money, raising debt further...
These essays are terribly disturbing as the greed, destruction and waste is so vast, crippling small countries, causing poverty to become more entrenched to fill the pockets of a Global elitist few and their cronies.
One would logically assume that because of the billions of dollars poured into some third world countries for their development, one would see the benefits of such huge investments. In actual fact, there has been no benefit, because in most cases, the poverty has worsened. Why? Money is loaned to known corrupt regimes that pocket the money and make the money clean through tax loopholes and off shore accounts.
Other reasons are presented such as the trade agreements of the World Trade Organization which makes it impossible for developing countries with debt to produce and export because developed countries, per the WTO agreements, import products into the local market underpricing them, thus making it impossible for the developing country to rise out of debt, let alone make a living.
In this review I've chosen not to write specific examples of this high level corruption as this format, does not allow the space. However, in order to understand the extent that these so-called elites go to... including genocide, crimes against humanity and all out war and occupation in order to ensure access to resources such as oil and other natural resources, read this text because it will make you wonder how and why it has gone on for so long.
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man started the ball rolling in terms of more awareness of the waste and destruction that neo-liberalism and globalization has wrought on developing countries; A Game as Old as Empire is the confirmation and the quintessential wake up call to actually do something about it.
In the last chapter, Global Uprising: The Web of Resistance, Antonia Juhasz writes a compelling piece for all concerned individuals around the globe to do something about this entrenched elitist corruption. The bibliography is extensive and worthy, including a list of important web sites to enhance your knowledge.
Even if you haven't read "Confessions", A Game as Old as Empire will inform, disturb, shock and hopefully stir some of us into action before these elitist corporations, banks and exclusive, corrupt governments go too far...A Game as Old as Empire: The Secret World of Economic Hit Men and the Web of Global Corruption Overview

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Consumed: How Markets Corrupt Children, Infantilize Adults, and Swallow Citizens Whole Review

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Consumed: How Markets Corrupt Children, Infantilize Adults, and Swallow Citizens Whole ReviewI see a number of other reviewers belittling the book because of some trivial factual error regarding sports figures or celebrities, but in my eyes those points merely underscores the point that Barber is trying to make. In the end the constant media focus on these types of people is in my eyes a mass distraction. Does it change my life one iota when a drunken celebrity does something stupid? Not at all, but the media covers it for hour on end, and people lap it up.
People defend popular culture such as Harry Potter or Shrek, but these are all pure escapism and have very little relevance to our daily lives. Reviewers of those films make tortured comparisons to try and prove relevance to daily life, but the sad fact is that many people have become conditioned to not expect more, and perhaps not even have the patience to view a more substantive work.
Other reviewers insist that they aren't manipulated and that they have free choice. To an extent that is true, but one can easily argue that many people are making poor choices because they have been so deeply conditioned by advertisers. How can you justify spending 50K$ on a car, and replacing it when it is 3 years old when an inexpensive well-made car will fulfill the basic needs of transportation and may last 5-8 years instead? How can you justify spending money on bottled water when tap water in most areas is just fine? And how can you justify accumulating tens of thousands in consumer debt just to acquire all of this stuff? There are countless such examples all over the place.
And finally, there is the paradigm that runs deeply through our society that having more money and having more material goods will somehow make you happier. The problem is that these desires can never be satisfied - there is always something more, and there is always someone else who has more. In the end all of this materialism leaves people feeling empty, and the only tonic that they know to try and fill the void is to go out and shop some more.
On the other hand, if you can reach a point where you are content with what you have, you may find that many of the things that you do have are completely superfluous and can be donated to Goodwill or sold. Get rid of enough stuff, and that McMansion will seem empty, and a more modest and affordable house may meet your needs quite nicely.
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The Global Environment of Business Review

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The Global Environment of Business ReviewThe Global Environment of Business is a fine text offering an analysis of the environment in which international business operates. From how multi-national corporations and nation states interact to shape the international economic system to how the economy internationalizes and how this can lead to a global world or a regional focus, this is packed with technological and historic assessments based on economic research and political science alike: perfect for any college-level business library.The Global Environment of Business Overview

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The Globalization and Development Reader: Perspectives on Development and Global Change Review

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The Globalization and Development Reader: Perspectives on Development and Global Change ReviewA nice reader for an undergraduate class on Globalization. It collects classic essays on the issue of Globalization and Development. The first section of the book pays tribute to the classics (Marx, Weber and so on) but the chosen pieces although important are not directly related to globalization which is the theme of the book. Instructors will have to assign additional readings by Marx and Weber. The Introduction to this section does not link the text to globalization. Instructors will have to make the connections in their lectures. Essays from major scholars such as Sassen, McMichael, Held and McGrew to mention a few are included in the book. However, some of the essays might not reflect these scholars' most recent work. The most interesting section of the book, in my view, is Confronting Globalization in which articles on the global reaction to globalization have been carefully chosen. Finally, the book lacks a full section only on Gender and another only on the Environment. College students demand to know more about these themes nowadays.
I hope this review does not prevent you from buying this book. It is impossible to build the perfect reader, particularly, on a topic that is changing at a fast pace. My comments only intended to inform you about what you will and you will not find in Roberts and Hite's book. I bought it anyway.The Globalization and Development Reader: Perspectives on Development and Global Change Overview

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