Value Wars: The Global Market Versus the Life Economy

Book Description

The slogan "Marxism is dead" was proclaimed almost immediately after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Very soon after, a strange ideological inversion occurred. In place of the "inevitable victory of the proletariat" espoused by Marx, there was the "inevitable process of globalization," a line now adopted by corporations, politicians and the media the world over. John McMurtry unravels the moral contradictions inherent in this "new world order," and argues that it cannot succeed because it is based on essentially inhuman values. Connecting across a broad spectrum of issues including the Iraq and Balkan wars, the Asian and Russian meltdowns, ecological collapse, the privatization and deregulation of public institutions, and the principles of technology, neoclassical and Marxian economics, McMurtry's compelling study lays bare the battle lines of an emerging global ethical war.

Tracking social uprisings across continents from the rural landless and women's movements of the South to the workers, students and civil alliances marching in the North, the author's original "life-ground ethics" explains the unseen bonds uniting people across cultural and class divisions. Defining the clear choices available to us, and taking apart the official line of "no alternative," John McMurtry offers a devastating philosophical critique of the global market paradigm and a pathbreaking manifesto for global economic reform.

Customer Reviews:

The inherent immorality of capitalism.......2004-06-30

"Value Wars" by John McMurtry offers what may be one of the most effective and scathing critiques of capitalism written in recent memory. Mr. McMurtry penetrates the palliatives offered up by corporate propagandists to expose the wanton greed of the privileged class and the inherent immorality of capitalism. Importantly, the author also offers a thoughtful and compelling package of socio-economic reforms that, if implemented, might well help secure a measure of real social, economic and environmental justice.

Mr. McMurtry is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. His works have been published in over 150 journals and books, including the classic "The Cancer Stage of Capitalism" (1999). The author is recognized as a leader in the anti-globalization and peace movements. His prior life experiences as a football player, journalist and world traveler combine to create probably one of the most original, humane and articulate voices in North America today.

The Preface to "Value Wars" compares the fanaticism of the 9/11 hijackers with the corporate value-set. The author contends that the close ties among the business community, the U.S. government and many of the terrorists exemplifies the moral crisis. That the incident has provided a pretext for the U.S. to systematically repress its citizens who are opposed to globalization and to actively colonize strategic nations such as Afghanistan and Iraq merely compounds the situation.

"Value Wars" is divided into three sections, as follows:

Part I describes "The New World Order" of global capitalism. Mr. McMurtry deconstructs the "inversions of meaning" used by the powerful to gain popular acquiesence for the neoliberal agenda. Corporate control of government and the mass media has resulted in a loss of meaningful dialogue and debate; instead, the fanatical pursuit of private wealth accumulation is proclaimed to be the only viable "choice" for society. But even as social and environmental costs escalate as a consequence of the neoliberal agenda, the state increasingly collaborates with capital in a deliberate manner by negotiating and enforcing pro-corporate trade deals, social program cuts, the sale of state assets, and the application of police and military force.

Part II is entitled "Unlocking the Invisible Prison". Mr. McMurtry's writing is in top form as he explores the methods by which the finance capital system colonizes the minds and bodies of its subjects. Advertising induces consumption through garish "repetitions of mind-shackling misrepresentations" while the media projects false "images of dream-like omnipotence" of the materialist lifestyle. When the social sciences fail to manipulate and condition citizens to behave in the properly prescribed manner, the prison is used to enforce subservience; meanwhile, the author contends that the "real capital criminals" are rewarded with success in the corporate sector.

Part III is "The Paradigm Turn: The Life Economy Principles from Where We Stand". Mr. McMurtry devotes 100 pages to a detailed discussion of a "Life Economy Manifesto" that could help restore equity and sanity to the world. Throughout the discussion, the author's knowledge of history, economics and philosophy helps him build a very credible case for reform. Mr. McMurtry is particularly effective when he shows how really existing capitalism has strayed from its professed principles; the author highlights the contradictions of neoliberal dogma and argues that his proposals offer a better way to achieve peace and prosperity for all. While many of Mr. McMurtry's ideas have been stated elsewhere -- for example, the author advocates taxes on speculative investments, greater public accountability of corporations and the media, reductions in military spending, and so on -- his ability to effectively compare and contrast the corporate "death" economy with his "life" economy alternative frames the discussion in an interesting and uniquely compelling manner.

I strongly recommend this powerful and visionary book to everyone.

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Organization: Text, Cases, and Readings on the Management of Organizational Design and Change
Phyllis Fineman Schlesinger
Manufacturer: Richard D Irwin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0256091846

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Organization: Text, cases, and readings on the management of organizational design and change (The Irwin series in management and the behavioral sciences)
John P Kotter
Manufacturer: R. D. Irwin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books | Business Ethics | Consolidation & Merger | Decision-Making & Problem Solving | Distribution & Warehouse Management | Industrial | Information Management | Leadership | Management | Management Science | Motivational | Negotiating | Operations Research | Planning & Forecasting | Pricing | Production & Operations | Project Management | Quality Control | Risk Assessment | Statistics | Strategy & Competition | Systems & Planning | Systems Analysis | Teams | Total Quality Management | Training
Organizational Change | Organizational Behavior | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0256022267

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Instructor's manual for Organization, texts, cases, and readings on the management of organizational design and change
John P Kotter
Manufacturer: R.D. Irwin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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ASIN: B00070USSC

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Instructor's manual to accompany Organization: Text, cases, and readings on the management of organizational design and change
John P Kotter
Manufacturer: Irwin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Management | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0256048452

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Organization : Text, Cases,and Readings on the Management of Organizational Design and Change
John P Kotter
Manufacturer: R. D. Irwin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OQDFT8

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Organization: Text, Cases, and Readings on the Management of Organizational Design and Change
Vijay Sathe Phyllis F. Schlesinger
Manufacturer: Richard D Irwin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OQCHI8

Book Description

Covers sampling methods and practices; manual and automatic sampling; equipment and flow devices; quality assurance and quality control practices; sample preservation, handling and shipping; data collection; recording techniques; preparing laboratory, plant and regulatory reports; and safety considerations associated with wastewater sampling. Includes compiling methods and reporting forms. Replaces the 1993 edition. 194 pages. Hard cover.

Handbook of Wastewater Treatment Processes (Pollution Engineering and Technology)

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Handbook of Wastewater Treatment Processes (Pollution Engineering and Technology)

Manufacturer: Marcel Dekker
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Design handbook for automation of activated sludge wastewater treatment plants (Research reporting series)

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Design handbook for automation of activated sludge wastewater treatment plants (Research reporting series)
Alan W Manning
Manufacturer: Available to the public through the National Technical Information Service
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Binding: Unknown Binding

Preliminary Processes (Handbooks of UK Wastewater Practice)

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Preliminary Processes (Handbooks of UK Wastewater Practice)

Manufacturer: Chartered Institution of Water & Environmental Management
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Book Description

From cell division to heartbeat, clocklike rhythms pervade the activities of every living organism. The cycles of life are ultimately biochemical in mechanism but many of the principles that dominate their orchestration are essentially mathematical.

The Geometry of Biological Time describes periodic processes in living systems and their non-living analogues in the abstract terms of nonlinear dynamics. Enphasis is given in phase singularities, waves, and mutual synchronization in tissues composed of many clocklike units. Also provided are descriptions of the best-studied experimental systems such as chemical oscillators, pacemaker neurons, circadian clocks, and excitable media organized into biochemical and bioelectrical wave patterns in two and three dimensions. No theoretical background is assumed; the required notions are introduced through an extensive collection of pictures and easily understood examples. This extensively updated new edition incorporates the fruits of two decades' further exploration guided by the same principles. Limit cycle theories of circadian clocks are now applied to human jet lag and are understood in terms of the molecular genetics of their recently discovered mechanisms. Supercomputers reveal the unforeseen architecture and dynamics of three-dimensional scroll waves in excitable media. Their role in life-threatening electrical aberrations of the heartbeat is exposed by laboratory experiments and corroborated in the clinic. These developments trace back to three basic mathematical ideas.

Customer Reviews:

A classic.......2007-06-09

This book gets better and better with time. The more I know about the topics covered in this book, the more I realize how important the book is and how much is to be learned from it.

For those not familiar with Art Winfree, he was a pioneer in the mathematical and experimental investigation of the temporal and spatial aspects of biological phenomena. I don't know that I would agree with the reviewer who states that the book "transgresses" scientific boundaries. Perhaps a few decades ago this might have been true, but much of what Winfree pioneered is now mainstream science, or at least well-known.

The idea of "transgressing boundaries" implies a certain sense of rebellion and frequently has polticial overtones, and I would best describe Winfree as an explorer, not a rebel. He, along with a few other scietists scattered throughout various disciplines, followed where his interests and results led him. In a way, this is the essence of pure science.

Later in his life Winfree was recognized in many ways, deservedly so, and continued to work on his ideas until his death. By that time, his work was well known to scientists in a variety of areas. As another reviewer stated, Winfree was not concerned so much with his image, as with explaining his ideas and thought processes that he used in trying to "get it right".

If you are new to the work of Art Winfree this book will serve as a valuable part of your education. If you are an old hand, who has not looked at the material in the book in a long time, it is always worth yet another reading. This is a very good book. It is a classic of science.

Completely Interdisciplinary Science.......2001-08-19

This 2nd edition of a 1980 book is about 50% enlarged. Its readers today will probably be scientists two generations removed from those familiar with the first printing but this review stresses only the new stuff.

The book has two main parts: a first half containing ten chapters mostly about principles and theory, and a second half containing thirteen more about specific experimental systems. It seems curiously hard to decide whether the subject matter is narrow to the point of caricaturing academic specialization, or incredibly broad to the point of suggesting a smorgasbord for science dilettantes. Among the forty thousand academic science journals viable today, not one is devoted to the topic of "biological waves, oscillations, and phase singularities" featured in this book, so it must be too narrow even for such tastes. Yet the literature drawn upon spans an unmatchably wide gamut, ranging from practical medicine to abstract topology, from recent molecular genetics to history of science, from 1836 to 2000. And Science Citations Index shows that the first edition has been cited about a thousand times in widely diverse publications, continuing at about constant rate over the past twenty years. Maybe this is why Springer-Verlag chose to provoke a 2nd edition even after so long.

Updating is usually an opportunity to erase blunders, but this author instead preserves and draws attention to them: how did this mistake happen, and how did the item come to be seen from a different perspective, with different meaning? To avoid giving offense the author preserves mostly his own blunders for such object lessons while going out of his way to credit the innovations of others.

Almost the whole 1980 text is preserved, with new material intercalated on a shaded background, except for two entirely new fat chapters. One concerns the self-organization of excitable media into three-dimensional vortices with exotic topologies. This is almost wholly theoretical (supercomputer calculations and topology): the only ones discovered in the laboratory (so far) are simple vortex rings. The website mentioned in the preface contains much of the same material but more beautifully illustrated in subsequent Powerpoint lectures not mentioned in the book. The other new chapter concerns real cardiology and the role of phase singularities in sudden cardiac death. This seems a morass of details where I would have preferred to see the elegant tree that grew from seeds planted in the first edition. This tree was recognized midway between editions by a medical award normally given only to cardiologists. The new chapter gives the impression that it is already being cut down or at least pruned, and the author is more concerned about the details of that process than about defending its original structure. His 1987 book, was written a few years before the anticipated role of phase singularities and rotors in cardiology found confirmation in quantitative experiments, so the interested reader (if any) must still resort to the cited journal literature for that story.

Another chapter reports on revolutionary developments entirely unforeseen in the first edition: this is the story of molecular genetics of the circadian biological clock. The author provides a readable summary of discoveries up to the end of 1999, but quite a lot of facts have accumulated since that time. The author's point of view is that present-day facts, while unanticipated in detail, do bear out the almost-forgotten theory elaborated in a 1963 book (Goodwin) as to basic principles, and the contrarian expectation stressed in the first edition, that the details may prove to be surprisingly diverse taxonomically.

One of the best resources this eight hundred page book provides is its dual index, with almost two thousand topics and as many cited references, half of them since the first edition. Because the material is both mathematical and experimental, and each item is encountered several times but from different directions in the text, the index is indispensable to persons with finite lifetime who accordingly prefer not to read every word in sequence. Find the topic, jot down its several pages, read one and note a reference from which that argument draws its data, then see the other index for all pages on which that source document is alluded to. The references, by the way, seem exceptionally complete and up-to-date (up to the last day of the 20th century, when it appears the ms was sent to press).

The preface points to a website for Errata. While this may be helpful to specialists, for the rest of us a better discovery lurks nearby: a link to a series of richly illustrated lectures given since the book went to press. These cover much of the same material in about three hundred substantially distinct slides but with entirely different organization in Powerpoint color (in contrast to about as many B&W line drawings in the book). The web site URL changed: it now seems to be eebweb.biosci.Arizona.edu/~art for Errata, and for the Powerpoints, eeb8.biosci.Arizona.edu/art/2000_lectures.

The author was professor of biological sciences at Purdue University until a few years after the first edition, and has since been professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Arizona. These seem peculiar credentials for authorship of a monograph mostly about topology, physical chemistry, and cardiac electrophysiology in an Applied Mathematics series. The key to understanding this phenomenon may be the first word, standing out in yellow against the green book cover: Interdisciplinary. Whatever may be hyped to the contrary, the academic world resents and resists activities that transgress its historically-defined disciplinary boundaries. You will find them all transgressed in this book.

Book Description

The complex and fascinating subject of endocrinology can often seem rather daunting for non-specialists. For practising endocrinologists too, maintaining a broad overview of the subject can be a major task. Laboratory Animal Endocrinology has been written with both these audiences in mind. Focusing on the species regularly used in experimental studies (including rodents, dogs and monkeys), each chapter presents a wealth of information on hormone structure, synthesis, secretion, receptors, second messengers and their actions, and considers the various physiological and pharmacological processes which may be involved in hormonal regulation. Interspecies' differences in hormonal structure, metabolism and interactions with drugs and other chemicals are particularly important to toxicologists and in drug safety evaluation. Laboratory Animal Endocrinology also explores these areas of research and provides much-needed support for the interpolation of endocrine data from one test species to another and to humans. The book is not intended exclusively for toxicologists however, but will prove indispensable for all those working with laboratory animals.

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Valuable Training Advice -- a must for all athletes

Explosive energy

Explosive Power and Jumping Ability for All Sports
Tadeusz Starzynski
Manufacturer: Stadion Publishing Company, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Tanita BC554 Ironman Glass InnerScan Body Composition Monitor Elite Series

ASIN: 0940149095

Book Description

"Explosive Power and Jumping Ability for All Sports" tells how to develop explosive power, special endurance for explosive movements, speed, coordination, and flexibility. It shows ready-made progressions of exercises for an amazing variety of major sports, including all track-and-field events, ball games, and martial arts, and many more. Readers will learn what are the right training loads and how to prevent injuries to ankles, knees, and arms.

Customer Reviews:

Valuable Training Advice -- a must for all athletes.......2000-06-26

... As a world class and Olympic level coach of Dwight Stones, James Butts, Dan Ripley and others, may I encourage you to use these wonderful concepts that Tadeusz has given. These principles will work very well with our "Aerobic Resistive Rebounding" concept found in the "Olympic Trainer" book available on Amazon.com. Give these concepts a try and you will become a champion!

Explosive energy.......2000-03-26

This book is great its easy to understand,and the best part about it is this book really works.My speed power and jumping kicks have sky rocketed due to this amazing book.Get explosive power and jumping ability for all sports and you will get results.

Book Description

"Dennis Palumbo has great insight into a writers psyche.... Every writer should have a shrink or this book. The book is cheaper." Â-Gary Shandling, actor, comic, and writer

"wise, compassionate, and funny..." Â-Aram Saroyan, poet and novelist

"Dennis Palumbo provides a sense of community in the isolation of writing, of knowing that we are not alone on this uncharted and privileged journey. He shows us that our shared struggles, fears, and triumphs are the very soul of the art and craft of writing." Â-Bruce Joel Rubin, screenwriter, GhostandDeepImpact

Writers block. Procrastination. Loneliness. Doubt. Fear of failure. Fear of rejection. Just plain...fear. What does it mean if you struggle with these feelings on a daily basis?It means youre a writer.Written with a unique empathy and deep insight by someone who is both a fellow writer and a noted psychotherapist, Writing from the Inside Out sheds light on the inner life of the writer and shows you positive new ways of thinking about your artÂ-and yourself. Palumbo touches on subjects ranging from writers envy to rejection, from the loneliness of solitude to the joy of craft. Most of all, he leads you to the most empowering revelation of allÂ-that you are enough. Everything you need to navigate the often tumultuous terrain of the writers path and create your best work is right there inside you.

Download Description

An engaging and insightful book for writers of all kinds on navigating the psychological issues of creative writing, based on the author's popular "Writer's Life" column, which appears in the journal of the Writer's Guild of America.

Customer Reviews:

Life-changing.......2006-11-10

Just what the doctor ordered for writers who wrestle with the demands of the writing life, which is all of us. Palumbo is a healer, and this book now lives on my nightstand.

Writers, You Are Not Alone.......2006-03-29

For many years I experienced writer's block, lonliness, doubt, fear of rejection and just plain fear. Just like the summary on the back of the book. I am glad that I am not alone and it made me realize that is part of the the writing life. This book gives hope and support that yes you can make it as a writer maybe not the riches in terms of money but maybe to quench your thirsty soul. Dennis Palumbo doesn't give away all his secrets(of course he still has a practice to run as a psychotherapist) but enough answers to make you realize yes you are not nuts or crazy but simply a writer. A good reference book to keep by your writing desk whenever you feel down or have the inevitable writer's block.

A truly helpful book.......2004-09-12

Palumbo is a writer turned psychotherapist. He saw all his own problems writing, and understood others also had them, and found his new voaction counceling other authors at various stages in their careers. As such the book differs from most other writer's guide books. He focuses on the internal processes of writing: self-doubt, negative judgement, hopelessness, loneliness, lack of ideas, etc. And he does give very valuable advice. Basically, he tells us to turn our weaknesses into strenghts. We can use anything in our writing, even our procrastination and depression. An idea that actullay goes back all the way to Nietzsche.
Thios book will not write anything for you, but it will help give new clarity to your thoughts about writing, and in that way help you with your writing.

Some great suggestions, but could be better.......2004-05-19

Eric Maisel's "Living the Writer's Life" is one of the best books I've found on the writer's life, right up there with Rachel Simon's "The Writer's Survival Guide". Palumbo's, unfortunately, is not so spectacular, although it definitely has its merits.

One of Palumbo's best-conceived ideas is that in order to be happy with our writing, we must learn to enjoy the process for its own sake, not simply for external rewards such as sales and good reviews. I particularly like his view of writing as meditation, "a hushed, private space"--a calling more than a career. Palumbo talks about the problems all writers face, and it might help you to realize that you aren't so alone after all.

As much as I loved the good parts of Palumbo's book, however, there were definitely some parts I didn't like. For example, I took real issue with some of his claims regarding bipolar disorder, particularly his claim that bipolar is nothing more than an unhelpful label. As someone who HAS bipolar disorder (a genetically-inherited, biologically-based *illness*), and whose life was very much aided by the proper medication, I can say that such "labels" can be very helpful indeed! If you're worried about somehow losing your creativity if you medicate and calm your manic phases, I can personally testify to the fact that in many cases medication makes it much easier to actually sit down and take advantage of your creativity, rather than taking it away.

It is clear that Palumbo has some very strong feelings on certain matters, and every few chapters these feelings detract from the usefulness of the book. He bashes would-be writers who haven't yet written anything, comparing them to someone who says that they've always wanted to give heart surgery a try one of these weeks (the analogy holds merit in that writing requires skill, but falls apart in that writing requires more learning-by-doing, and can at least be attempted, explored, and practiced by the unskilled!). If there's one thing I took away from Maisel's book, it's that every writer was once a would-be writer. And the line between "wanna-be" and "would-be" isn't something we can assume just by looking at someone.

I don't recommend this book to the novice or "would-be" writer. Unlike Maisel's book, it's likely to give you a few skewed ideas about creativity and your own role in writing. On the other hand, it has a lot of very useful suggestions for writers who have some experience and are looking for help with the ups and downs of their craft. Palumbo has written lots of scripts and screenplays, so he has plenty of advice that is of particular use to those writers dealing with Hollywood.

Hope for all writers.......2003-12-23

An awesome book for those who are "stuck" in their writing lives. Palumbo uses real-life examples to demonstrate that all writers, from the beginner to the most successful, at one time or another struggle with the writing process. The examples he uses reassures us that "we are not alone" in our creative frustrations and there is hope, even if we (as writers) don't see it.

Book Description

Everywhere we see evidence of standardisation, serial production of goods and services, uniformity across the globe, and, increasingly, a reaction against this trend in fields as diverse as product design, building components or urban development. This publication presents fascinating reports on strategies of rebellion discovered in cities such as Paris, Wuppertal, Seoul and London. Interviews with architects in Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, Spain, France and the USA reveal a subversive attitude no longer prepared to accept uniform standards and globalisation to the detriment of individuality and idiosyncracy. IN-EX is a group of young Parisian architects (Louis Paillard, Anne-Françoise Jumeau, David Trottin and Emanuelle Marin-Trottin) who regularly organise architectural exhibitions and events.

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