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The Professor of Immortality: A Novel
by Eileen Pollack&“A tragicomedy about the paradoxes of trying to be a decent human, and—maybe even trickier—of trying to be a decent mom&” by the author of A Perfect Life (Rivka Galchen, author of Little Labors). Professor Maxine Sayers once found her personal and professional life so fulfilling that she founded the Institute for Future Studies, a program dedicated to studying the effects of technology on our culture and finding ways to prolong human life. But when her beloved husband dies, she is so devastated she can barely get out of bed. To make matters worse, her son, Zach, abruptly quit his job in Silicon Valley and has been out of contact for seven months. But Maxine is jolted from her grief by her sudden realization that a favorite former student (and a former close friend of her son) might be a terrorist called the Technobomber and that Zach might either be involved in or has become a victim of this extremist&’s bombing. Deserting her teaching responsibilities, her ailing mother, and an appealing suitor, Maxine is compelled to set out in search of her son in order to warn and protect him—even though she knows she should report her suspicions to the FBI to prevent greater carnage. &“The Professor of Immortality is intimate and sweeping, funny and terrifying, and most of all dead-on in its observations of what it means to want to know everything about people we love while still being frightened of what we might find out: it&’s a detective story, and a story of motherlove. Eileen Pollack is a splendid writer.&” —Elizabeth McCracken, author of Bowlaway &“In this exceptional novel, Eileen Pollack writes with great immediacy about the impact of grief on a parent&’s perception of the world. Tender, wry, full of unexpected revelations, The Professor of Immortality gripped me from the first scene, and the urgent questions it poses have stayed with me.&” —Idra Novey, author of Those Who Knew
The Professors: The 101 Most Dangerous Academics in America
by David HorowitzBestselling author David Horowitz reveals a shocking and perverse culture of academics who are poisoning the minds of today's college students. The Professors is a wake-up call to all those who assume that a college education is sans hatred of America and the American military and support for America's terrorist enemies.
The Professors: The 101 Most Dangerous Academics in America
by David HorowitzBeware the unhinged, leftist academic when David Horowitz hits campus. This book is a thoroughly enjoyable and useful guide to the worst of the worst in the hallowed halls of academia. There are those who would politicize the university classroom and transform it into an advocacy center for narrow and extreme views. If we allow that to continue, we will undermine America's ability to lead in the century ahead. This is the story of almost any campus in America. Parents know college professors 'tend to be liberal' but they don't realize how truly anti-middle class and anti-American they can be. The Professors is a must-read, not only for educators and governmental policy makers-but for every parent with high school or college-age children.The professors throws light on the political abuse of our college and university classrooms by activist professors who have been enabled to do so because of the incestuous self-selection process for faculty recruitment and tenure. The book also throws a harrowing light on the decline of professional standards in our schools and the efforts by faculty with political agendas to use their classrooms for indoctrination rather than education. With documentation that will be hard to refute, David Horowitz describes the betrayal of our young people by professors who are defiantly unethical and contemptuous of academic standards. Academics on the Left like to pat themselves on the back for daring to 'speak truth to power.' The Professors speaks some uncomfortable truths to them-to those who run American higher education today. They will hate this scathing critique, but will be hard- pressed to answer his charges.
A Profile of Hong Kong: During Times Past, Times Current, and Its Quest of a Future Maintaining Hong Kong's Liberty
by Bruce HerschensohnA Profile of Hong Kong provides a detailed history of colonialism in Hong Kong that still reverberates today. Despite this tumultuous history, there are many things that make Hong Kong special and worth fighting for. For over 100 years, the Hong Kong people have been fighting for liberty despite the constant oppression from other countries. Bruce Herschensohn shows how years of riots and protests demonstrate the resilience of the Hong Kong people and the determination to make their country belong to them. With compelling firsthand accounts, A Profile of Hong Kong explores the history of this political entity from a 99-year treaty to the handover to the recent powerful protests for liberty. Herschensohn emphasizes the irony of the Chinese government coming to Hong Kong, the majority of whose people had fled from that same government, and how these very people are once again facing oppression from this repressive government.Herschensohn includes through descriptions of the changes for Hong Kong people that were put into place 100 years ago as well as descriptions of major international figures in the complicated history of Hong Kong. While there are large effects of other countries on Hong Kong, Hong Kong has also had effects on other countries. “Once you have visited Hong Kong. it would never stop visiting you.”
The Profile of Political Leaders
by Jaap Van GinnekenBy analysing a wide range of empirical research into leadership, this book provides a composite portrait of frequent characteristics, such as personality and demeanour, that influence both the success and popularity of political leaders. Through the lenses of mass psychology and collective behaviour sociology, the author offers fascinating observations on political leadership which reveal a coherent pattern. In our choice of and support for leaders, we still seem to be guided by unconscious or instinctive preferences. Evolutionary psychologists have labelled this 'CALP' for 'Cognitive Ancestral Leadership Prototype'. Length, symmetry, face form, voice pitch, eye blinking and more turn out to play a role - even today - alongside personality and style. Each chapter of the book offers a case study to illustrate these observations, including Barack Obama, Ronald Reagan, Nicolas Sarkozy, and Boris Johnson. This book is accessibly written to appeal to students of politics, psychology and sociology, as well as the wider interested reader.
A Profile of the American Electorate: Partisan Behavior and the Need for Reform
by Matthew L. Bergbower<i>A Profile of the American Electorate</i> takes an extensive look at the political foundations and behaviors of citizens, yesterday and today. Presenting decades of data on voter choice, voter turnout, and public opinion in a way that is clear and accessible for students of political science, the book uniquely emphasizes the importance of voting, socialization, and reform measures to enhance good citizenship. It explores how Americans become conservative or liberal, why some vote and others stay home, their knowledge of politics, how polarized the public has become, and the complex motivations behind their vote choices.
Profiles in Character: Hubris and Heroism in the U.S. Senate, 1789-1996
by Joseph Martin HernonA take-off of Kennedy's Profiles in Courage, which argues that the best-known US senators don't deserve their renown as much as some lesser-known ones. Over the course of ten biographical chapters, this book tells the story of 16 men's lives in the Senate in relation to each other.
Profiles in Corruption: Abuse of Power by America's Progressive Elite
by Peter SchweizerWashington insiders operate by a proven credo: when a Peter Schweizer book drops, duck and brace for impact. <p><p> For over a decade, the work of five-time New York Times bestselling investigative reporter Peter Schweizer has sent shockwaves through the political universe. Clinton Cash revealed the Clintons’ international money flow, exposed global corruption, and sparked an FBI investigation. Secret Empires exposed bipartisan corruption and launched congressional investigations. And Throw Them All Out and Extortion prompted passage of the STOCK Act. Indeed, Schweizer’s “follow the money” bombshell revelations have been featured on the front pages of the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, and regularly appear on national news programs, including 60 Minutes. <p> Now Schweizer and his team of seasoned investigators turn their focus to the nation’s top progressives—politicians who strive to acquire more government power to achieve their political ends. <p> Can they be trusted with more power?In Profiles in Corruption, Schweizer offers a deep-dive investigation into the private finances, and secrets deals of some of America’s top political leaders. And, as usual, he doesn’t disappoint, with never-before-reported revelations that uncover corruption and abuse of power—all backed up by a mountain of corporate documents and legal filings from around the globe. Learn about how they are making sweetheart deals, generating side income, bending the law to their own benefits, using legislation to advance their own interests, and much more. <p> Profiles in Corruption contains tomorrow’s headlines. <p><b>A New York Times Bestseller</b>
Profiles in Courage
by John Fitzgerald Kennedy"This is a book about that most admirable of human virtues--courage... and these are the stories of the pressures experienced by eight United States Senators and the grace with which they endured them--the risks to their careers, the unpopularity of their courses, the defamation of their characters, and sometimes, but sadly only sometimes, the vindication of their reputations and their principles." <P><P> During 1954-1955, John F. Kennedy, then a U.S. Senator, chose eight of his historical colleagues to profile for their acts of astounding integrity in the face of overwhelming opposition. These heroes include John Quincy Adams, Daniel Webster, Thomas Hart Benton, and Robert A. Taft. <P><P> Awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1957, Profiles in Courage resounds with timeless lessons on the most cherished of virtues and is a powerful reminder of the strength of the human spirit.
Profiles in Ignorance: How America's Politicians Got Dumb and Dumber
by Andy BorowitzAndy Borowitz, “one of the funniest people in America” (CBS Sunday Morning), brilliantly examines the intellectual deterioration of American politics, from Ronald Reagan to Dan Quayle, from George W. Bush to Sarah Palin, to its apotheosis in Donald J. Trump. <p><p>The winner of the first-ever National Press Club award for humor, Andy Borowitz has been called a “Swiftian satirist” (The Wall Street Journal) and “one of the country’s finest satirists” (The New York Times). Millions of fans and New Yorker readers enjoy his satirical news column “The Borowitz Report.” Now, in Profiles in Ignorance, he offers a witty, spot-on diagnosis of our country’s political troubles by showing how ignorant leaders are degrading, embarrassing, and endangering our nation. <p><p>Borowitz argues that over the past fifty years, American politicians have grown increasingly allergic to knowledge, and mass media have encouraged the election of ignoramuses by elevating candidates who are better at performing than thinking. Starting with Ronald Reagan’s first campaign for governor of California in 1966 and culminating with the election of Donald J. Trump to the White House, Borowitz shows how, during the age of twenty-four-hour news and social media, the US has elected politicians to positions of great power whose lack of the most basic information is terrifying. In addition to Reagan, Quayle, Bush, Palin, and Trump, Borowitz covers a host of congresspersons, senators, and governors who have helped lower the bar over the past five decades. <p><p>Profiles in Ignorance aims to make us both laugh and cry: laugh at the idiotic antics of these public figures, and cry at the cataclysms these icons of ignorance have caused. But most importantly, the book delivers a call to action and a cause for optimism: History doesn’t move in a straight line, and we can change course if we act now. <p> <b>New York Times Bestseller</b>
Profiles in Mental Health Courage
by Patrick J. Kennedy Stephen FriedProfiles in Mental Health Courage portrays the dramatic journeys of a diverse group of Americans who have struggled with their mental health. This book offers deeply compelling stories about the bravery and resilience of those living with a variety of mental illnesses and addictions. Several years ago, Patrick J. Kennedy shared the story of his personal and family challenges with mental illness and addiction—and the nation&’s—in his bestselling memoir, A Common Struggle. Now, he and his Common Struggle coauthor, award-winning healthcare journalist Stephen Fried, have crafted this powerful new book sharing the untold stories of others—a special group who agreed to talk about their illnesses, treatments, and struggles for the first time. When Kennedy&’s uncle, President John F. Kennedy, published his classic book Profiles in Courage, he hoped to inspire &“political courage&” by telling the stories of brave U.S. senators who changed America. In Profiles in Mental Health Courage, former Congressman Kennedy adapts his uncle&’s idea to inspire the &“mental health courage&” it takes for those with these conditions to treat their illnesses, and risk telling their stories to help America face its crisis in our families, our workplaces, our jails, and on our streets. The resounding silence surrounding these illnesses remains persistent, and this book takes an unflinching look at the experience of mental illness and addiction that inspires profound connection, empathy, and action. In this book, you&’ll meet people of all ages, backgrounds, and futures, across politics and government, Hollywood and the arts, tech and business, sports and science—some recovering, some relapsing, some just barely holding on, but all sharing experiences and insights we need to better understand. You&’ll also meet those trying to help them through—parents, siblings, spouses, therapists, bosses, doctors, and friends who create the extended families needed to support care and wellness. The personal stories they share with Kennedy and Fried are intimate, sometimes shocking, always revealing. And they are essential reading for caregivers, family members, policymakers, and the general public—just as they are for those who often feel alone in experiencing these challenges themselves.
Profiles in Power: Twentieth-Century Texans in Washington, New Edition
by Kenneth E. Patrick Cox Jr. Hendrickson Michael L. CollinsProfiles in Power offers concise biographies of fourteen twentieth-century Texans who wielded significant political power and influence in Washington, D.C. First published in 1993 by Harlan Davidson, it has been revised and updated with new chapters on John Nance Garner and Henry Gonzalez and expanded chapters on Lyndon Johnson, Barbara Jordan, Ralph Yarborough, Jim Wright, and John Tower. Demonstrating the validity of a biographical approach to history, the book as a whole covers all the major political issues of the twentieth century, as well as the pivotal role of Texans in defining the national agenda.
Profiles, Probabilities, and Stereotypes
by Frederick SchauerThis book employs a careful, rigorous, yet lively approach to the timely question of whether we can justly generalize about members of a group on the basis of statistical tendencies of that group. For instance, should a military academy exclude women because, on average, women are more sensitive to hazing than men? Should airlines force all pilots to retire at age sixty, even though most pilots at that age have excellent vision? Can all pit bulls be banned because of the aggressive characteristics of the breed? And, most controversially, should government and law enforcement use racial and ethnic profiling as a tool to fight crime and terrorism? Frederick Schauer strives to analyze and resolve these prickly questions. When the law "thinks like an actuary"--makes decisions about groups based on averages--the public benefit can be enormous. On the other hand, profiling and stereotyping may lead to injustice. And many stereotypes are self-fulfilling, while others are simply spurious. How, then, can we decide which stereotypes are accurate, which are distortions, which can be applied fairly, and which will result in unfair stigmatization? These decisions must rely not only on statistical and empirical accuracy, but also on morality. Even statistically sound generalizations may sometimes have to yield to the demands of justice. But broad judgments are not always or even usually immoral, and we should not always dismiss them because of an instinctive aversion to stereotypes. As Schauer argues, there is good profiling and bad profiling. If we can effectively determine which is which, we stand to gain, not lose, a measure of justice.
Profit and Poverty in Rural Vietnam: Winners and Losers of a Dismantled Revolution (Routledge Library Editions: Revolution #24)
by Rita Liljeström Eva Lindskog Nguyen Van Ang Vuong Xuan TinhThis book, first published in 1998, studies the social impact of Doi Moi, a policy of economic renovation, on the living conditions in state forest enterprises and agricultural cooperatives in northern Vietnam. It compares the authors’ findings with those of 1987, before the formal adoption of the new economic policies – essentially the opening up of the economy to market forces.
Profit and Prejudice: The Luddites of the Fourth Industrial Revolution
by Paul DonovanAvoiding prejudice will be critical to economic success in the fourth industrial revolution. It is not the new and innovative technology that will matter in the next decade, but what we do with it. Using technology properly, with diverse decision making, is the difference between success and failure in a changing world. This will require putting the right person in the right job at the right time. Prejudice stops that happening. Profit and Prejudice takes us through the relationship between economic success and prejudice in labour markets. It starts with the major changes that occur in periods of economic upheaval. These changes tend to be unpopular and complex – and complexity encourages people to turn to the simplistic arguments of ‘scapegoat economics’ and prejudice. Some of the changes of the fourth industrial revolution will help fight prejudice, but some will make it far worse. The more prejudice there is, the harder it will be for companies and countries to profit from the changes ahead. Profit is not the main argument against prejudice, but can certainly help fight it. This book tells a story of the damage that prejudice can do. Using economics without jargon, students, investors and the public will be able to follow the narrative and see how prejudice can be opposed. Prejudice is bad for business and the economy. Profit and Prejudice explains why.
Profit And The Pursuit Of Energy: Markets And Regulation
by Jonathan D Aronson Peter F CowheyAmong the books on the world energy crisis, on technological possibilities for self-sufficiency, and on various energy sources, this is one of a very few to address the practicalities of government regulatory responsibilities versus the pursuit of profit in the private sector and to look at the processes, logistics, and complex interactions among private energy companies, financial sectors, and national governments. The authors provide answers to such questions as: How do oil company operations influence government policies? What kinds of energy projects can be financed by existing financial institutions? How does the availability of insurance affect innovations in energy? They also examine how major investors and governments make decisions about the management of the volatile mix of political, economic, and technological risks that buffet the energy sector; critique the conventional wisdom concerning the major fuels; and project the likely evolution of the world energy market over the next decade.
Profit Is Not the Cure
by Maude BarlowOn July 12, 1966, the Medical Care Insurance Act was passed by the federal House of Commons after a ferocious public debate that pitted the vast majority of Canadians against a powerful alliance of business, insurance companies, and doctors.More than thirty years later, the same battle is being fought all over again. Only now, the forces opposed to medicare are more ideologically unified, more richly endowed, and tied to transnational corporations whose power exceeds that of entire countries.In Profit Is Not the Cure, Maude Barlow traces the history of medicare in Canada. She compares it with both public and private systems in other parts of the world. And she contrasts it with the brutally divisive system that exists in the United States, where forty-four million people have no medical insurance, and millions more get minimal care through profit-driven health maintenance organizations. From the point of view of most patients, the United States health-care model is a disaster. But the proponents of privatization in Canada, supported by the right-wing media and corporate lobbyists, are determined to impose American-style "reforms" on the Canadian public. Three provinces - British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario - are moving ahead rapidly to enlarge the role of commerce in the provision of health-care services. They are introducing user fees, delisting procedures that previously were covered, and encouraging private corporations to move into areas that used to be the exclusive domain of the public system.While the prime minister and federal cabinet have paid lipservice to the principles of medicare, they have made it clear by their actions that they will do nothing to impede the destruction of those principles by the provinces. In fact, their enthusiastic support of NAFTA, and the impending Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA) and General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), has made the defence of medicare increasingly difficult. Canadians overwhelmingly support medicare. Many, however, have been persuaded that it is a luxury we can no longer afford. Maude Barlow argues that this proposition is wrong. An earlier generation fought a bitter battle to bring medicare into existence. Another battle must be fought now to save it. But we owe it to the founders of the system, as well as to future generations, to take up the cause again. This important book shows the way.From the Hardcover edition.
The Profit of Peace: Corporate Responsibility in Conflict Regions
by Karolien Bais Mijnd HuijserIt may seem a strange notion to give the private sector a role in conflict prevention or resolution, but multinational corporations (MNCs) do have some characteristics that make them good partners in a well-designed strategy for peace and stability. By focusing on their core competencies, their presence in a conflict region can help to provide prosperity for rebuilding society and its institutions, and improved respect for human rights. This book is not a song of praise for MNCs in general. There is a litany of examples of companies that feel no shame in profiting from conflicts by trading weapons or illegal resources, that prolong war by supporting one or other of the parties, or that are only in a war-torn country because the lawlessness suits them well. Even companies that refrain from such criminal activities cannot be envisaged as potential peace-builders if they profit unscrupulously from cheap labour or cheap subcontractors. Instead, this book is about corporations that are disposed to ethical, responsible entrepreneurship: companies that balance their desire for profit with compliance with international business and human rights standards and with a genuine investment in local workers, environmental protection, social development and stability. Worldwide about 60,000 MNCs work in over 70 conflict regions. They operate in regions where social unrest is harshly repressed, where outright fighting takes place, or where civil war has recently ended. Whatever the attitude of multinationals and whatever their area of business, they influence conflicts or are themselves influenced by conflicts. Even if they do not directly invest in or trade with a conflict region, they always risk being associated with those conflicts. The Profit of Peace examines how multinationals can use their core business competencies to promote peace and stability in conflict regions and what role – if any – business has in diplomacy. To investigate these questions the authors interviewed CEOs and high-level managers of multinationals working in 'challenging' countries such as Afghanistan, Burma and Rwanda. The interviewees provided extraordinarily candid views on both the practical and ethical issues that occur when operating under extremely volatile circumstances. The lessons learned by these managers make the book invaluable for any manager working for a large company in a region of unrest. Two vital elements emerged. Firstly, the ability to manage cultural differences is a key factor for success. Without a keen sense of the differences in management styles, in perceptions of ethics and morality, and in the values behind political opinions, every peace effort is doomed to fail. Secondly, ethically correct decisions do not necessarily lead to ethically correct results. It was not the objective of the authors to judge which of the parties in conflict regions are right or wrong. Rather, they wanted to find out what kind of attitude at the end of the day contributes most effectively to conflict prevention or stabilisation of a region. In other words, in this book corporate responsibility is measured by the results and not by the intentions. All of the CEOs interviewed for this book were well aware of the fact that their companies operating in conflict regions would always influence the conflict one way or another. This awareness in itself is quite extraordinary, and it shows that the indifferent comment "business is business" by and large belongs to a past era. Also extraordinary was that the managers allowed such a frank look into their sanctuary, since this candour makes them all the more vulnerable to criticism. Through the information from the interviewees and from other managers who have experience in conflict regions, the book outlines the ingredients for an approach that can best lead to a solution of conflicts and to greater stability. It will only be in the long run that we will be able to establish how successful the new profession of 'business diplomat' can be, but in the m
Profit Over People: Neoliberalism and Global Order
by Noam ChomskyWhy is the Atlantic slowly filling with crude petroleum, threatening a millions-of-years-old ecological balance? Why did traders at prominent banks take high-risk gambles with the money entrusted to them by hundreds of thousands of clients around the world, expanding and leveraging their investments to the point that failure led to a global financial crisis that left millions of people jobless and hundreds of cities economically devastated? Why would the world's most powerful military spend ten years fighting an enemy that presents no direct threat to secure resources for corporations? The culprit in all cases is neoliberal ideology--the belief in the supremacy of "free" markets to drive and govern human affairs. And in the years since the initial publication of Noam Chomsky's Profit Over People: Neoliberalism and Global Order, the bitter vines of neoliberalism have only twisted themselves further into the world economy, obliterating the public's voice in public affairs and substituting the bottom line in place of people's basic obligation to care for one another as ends in themselves. In Profit Over People, Chomsky reveals the roots of the present crisis, tracing the history of neoliberalism through an incisive analysis of free trade agreements of the 1990s, the World Trade Organization, and the International Monetary Fund--and describes the movements of resistance to the increasing interference by the private sector in global affairs. In the years since the initial publication of Profit Over People, the stakes have only risen. Now more than ever, Profit Over People is one of the key texts explaining how the crisis facing us operates--and how, through Chomsky's analysis of resistance, we may find an escape from the closing net.
Profit Pathology and Other Indecencies
by Michael ParentiFrom market crisis to market boom, from welfare to wealth care, from homelessness to helplessness, and an all-out assault on the global environment-these are just some of the indecencies of contemporary economic life that Profit Pathology takes on. Here, Michael Parenti investigates how class power is a central force in our political life and, yet, is subjected to little critical discernment. He notes how big-moneyed interests shift the rules of the game in their favor while unveiling the long march by reactionaries through the nation's institutions to undo all the gains of social democracy, from the New Deal to the present. Parenti also traces the exploitative economic forces that have operated through much of American history, including the mass displacement and extermination of Native Americans and the enslavement of Africans. Parenti is a master at demonstrating the impact of monomaniacal profit accumulation on social services-especially health care-and human values. Here he takes us one step further, showing how unrestrained capitalism ultimately endangers itself, becoming a "self-devouring beast" that threatens us all. Finally, he calls for a solution based on democratic diversity and public ownership-"because it works."
Profit Pathology and Other Indecencies
by Michael ParentiFrom market crisis to market boom, from welfare to wealth care, from homelessness to helplessness, and an all-out assault on the global environment-these are just some of the indecencies of contemporary economic life that Profit Pathology takes on. Here, Michael Parenti investigates how class power is a central force in our political life and, yet, is subjected to little critical discernment. He notes how big-moneyed interests shift the rules of the game in their favor while unveiling the long march by reactionaries through the nation's institutions to undo all the gains of social democracy, from the New Deal to the present. Parenti also traces the exploitative economic forces that have operated through much of American history, including the mass displacement and extermination of Native Americans and the enslavement of Africans. Parenti is a master at demonstrating the impact of monomaniacal profit accumulation on social services-especially health care-and human values. Here he takes us one step further, showing how unrestrained capitalism ultimately endangers itself, becoming a "self-devouring beast" that threatens us all. Finally, he calls for a solution based on democratic diversity and public ownership-"because it works."
Profit Shifting and Tax Base Erosion: Case Studies of Post-Communist Countries (Contributions to Finance and Accounting)
by Danuše Nerudová Jan PavelThis book provides a comprehensive analysis of current techniques for profit shifting and tax base erosion in the area of corporate taxation and measurement. Firstly, it explains the relevance of the issue at hand – profit shifting and base erosion in the context of the 21st century. In turn, the book provides a comprehensive analysis of available techniques for the identification and measurement of profit shifting and base erosion, which adopt both the macro and micro perspective. It also provides examples from selected post-communist countries now in the EU, including the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary. Concrete recommendations for economic policy round out the coverage.
The Profiteers: How Business Privatizes Profits and Socializes Costs
by Christopher MarquisAn exposé of how society pays for corporations' "free lunch" and the cost of environmental damage, low wages, systemic discrimination, and cheap goods. In an age when business leaders solemnly profess dedication to principles of environmental and social justice, Christopher Marquis&’s provocative investigation into the real costs of doing business reveals the way that leaders of the corporate world gaslight to evade responsibilities by privatizing profits and socializing costs. &“Who pays?&” for the resulting climate and environmental damage, racism, low wages, and cheap goods: the average citizen and the taxpayer. By bringing to light ideas that today are on the fringe but rapidly making their way into the mainstream, Marquis outlines a new regenerative paradigm for business in society. He tells of a group of pioneers trying to not just reform but transform the way business is conducted all over the world. By taking novel actions to reimagine business operations in responsible ways, minimize their negative impacts, and create new ways for business to properly absorb their hidden costs, these leaders provide blueprints to move the needle on vexing social and environmental issues. What&’s in it for leaders of the corporate world? The model of reform presented provides clear guidance on how to get ahead of the curve as an emerging economic order is formed. No business can lead from the front if it is morally-backward looking. History has shown time and again that those who get out in front of emerging changes in our social and environmental landscape protect themselves from inevitable eclipse.
Profiting Without Producing
by Costas LapavitsasFinancialization is one of the most innovative concepts to emerge in the field of political economy during the last three decades, although there is no agreement on what exactly it is. Profiting Without Producing puts forth a distinctive view defining financialization in terms of the fundamental conduct of non-financial enterprises, banks and households. Its most prominent feature is the rise of financial profit, in part extracted from households through financial expropriation. Financialized capitalism is also prone to crises, none greater than the gigantic turmoil that began in 2007. Using abundant empirical data, the book establishes the causes of the crisis and discusses the options broadly available for controlling finance.
Profits and Power: Navigating the Politics and Geopolitics of Oil (UTP Insights)
by David A. DetomasiOil fuels the global economy and remains a staple of our energy system. Yet, its production and use continue to draw negative criticism, and an increasing number of people want to reduce or eliminate its use altogether. Profits and Power sheds light on how the oil system works, its key players, and the political and geopolitical issues related to its use. Starting in the second half of the nineteenth century, the book traces the fascinating history of how oil production and its sale became the world’s most profitable business. Tracing distinct eras in oil’s past, Profits and Power shows how periods defined by shifts in price often dictated who controlled production, and who enjoyed the often enormous riches oil production generated. David A. Detomasi weaves together politics, geopolitics, and economics to provide a complete picture of how the system really works, and what direction it will take in the future. As the world becomes increasingly aware of the dangers and challenges oil dependency creates, knowledge of this crucial commodity has never been more relevant and critical for humanity’s future. Profits and Power will resonate with anyone interested in, or charged with responding to, our evolving energy future.