The Porto Alegre Experiment: Learning Lessons for Better Democracy

Book Description

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Citation Details
Title: Marion Gret and Yves Sintomer, The Porto Alegre Experiment: Learning Lessons for Better Democracy.(Book review)
Author: Peter J. Smith
Publication: Labour/Le Travail (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 22, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Issue: 58 Page: 268(4)

Article Type: Book review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

"An incisive consideration of the Supremes, offering erudite yet accessible clues to legal thinking on the most important level."—Kirkus Reviews

In this authoritative reckoning with the eighteen-year record of the Rehnquist Court, Georgetown law professor Mark Tushnet reveals how the decisions of nine deeply divided justices have left the future of the Court—and the nation—hanging in the balance.

Many have assumed that the chasm on the Court has been between its liberals and its conservatives. In reality, the division was between those in tune with the modern post-Reagan Republican Party and those who, though considered to be in the Court's center, represent an older Republican tradition. As a result, the Court has modestly promoted the agenda of today's economic conservatives, but has regularly defeated the agenda of social issues conservatives—while paving the way for more radically conservative path in the future.

Customer Reviews:

Politics and the Rehnquist Court.......2007-02-06

This book deals with the Rehnquist Court up until sometime before the Presidential Election of 2004. The extraordinary stretch of incumbent justices (no changes since Breyer's confirmation in 1994) was still in progress, although we know now that it would not last for much longer. The author introduces all of what were then the nine justices, but some such as Thomas and Scalia definitely get more attention than others. Roughly the first half of the book deals in some way with the personalities of the justices; how their judicial temperaments and their politics have been shaped by their life experiences. The second half of the book concerns broad issues such as takings, federalism, and affirmative action. I found this second half a bit challenging to read, as it departed from the interactions of the justices and dealt with the abstractions of legal strategies and tactics and then the kind of manuevering through Constitutional Law that the justices do to validate their opinions. Still, it provides an introduction, though a bit burdensome, to the use of different kinds of "scutiny", "compelling interests" and balancing tests, and such concepts as "substantive due process."

The author views the Rehnquist Court as basically a political struggle between the conservative Republicans (Rehnquist, Scalia, and Thomas) and the traditional Republicans (O'Connor, Souter, and Kennedy) with the more liberal members (Ginsburg, Stevens, and Breyer) more or less on the sidelines. The traditional Republicans have been especially pivotal in holding the line on social issues, particularly on abortion. And, on the whole they have managed to steer the Court not very far from the precedents set by the New Deal and the Warren Court.

One of the major underlying topics is the question of interpreting the Constitution according to its original literal sense. In this regard, the author states that Clarence Thomas is the leader of the conservative cause, the most relentless of those rejecting a changing Constitution for changing times. This independence goes against the grain of public perception, which tends to see Scalia as the conservative leader after whose forcefulness Thomas follows. But Scalia is more likely to bend to precedence. As an example, Thomas would more readily change such New Deal government regulations that deal with agriculture and manufacturing because he believes that they cannot be regulated as interstate commerce.

A characteristic of the conservative trend on the Court concerns the adherence to rules and the authority of text. It makes an outsider or a layman wonder a little bit about what happened to any passion for justice. Certainly, the United States is a nation of laws not of men, and the insistence on rules or laws is not such a bad thing. But when does insistence upon the letter of the law work at the expense of justice? Would the literalists ever have done anything to change the system of segregation? One wonders. The author points out that Rehnquist made it a practice to reduce the number of cases reviewed, thereby reducing the concern of the Court for remedying injustices resulting from lower courts.

Shining Knights of the Status Quo?.......2006-03-14

The Legacy of the Rehnquist Supreme Court is that not much has really happened, according to Mark Tushnet, Professor of Constitutional Law at Georgetown University Law Center. The Court has maintained the line on Abortion and Affirmative Action, expanded gay's rights in its famous Lawrence vs. Texas decision, and in the cause of Federalism, it made only slight moves (it did limit the power of the US Congress under the Commerce Clause, for the first time since the New Deal, but upheld most Federal Laws against "Federalist" assaults).

The Reason for the maintenance of the Status Quo, according to Tushnet, is that the Court's Republicans, like the Republican Party in General, are split between two kinds of Republicans: Economic Republicans, like Sandra Day O'Connor, who believe in small government, tax cuts and business de regulation, and the Cultural Republicans, like Antonin Scalia, who oppose Gay's Rights and abortions. The Coalition of Moderate Republicans and Liberals on the Court is sufficient to block major changes in Constitutional Law, particularly regarding Abortion and Privacy, especially as that is also the direction the United States is heading towards generally.

According to Tushnet, the future is also generally temperate: "The Roberts Court in its first decade is likely to seem themeless overall" (p.358). As the United States continue to be divided, so will the Court. On issues the people care about - particularly abortion, there's unlikely to be much of a movement.

Unfortunately, I am not sure that the Court is as moderate as Tushnet thinks it is, and I am much less certain that the future will see the Court's moderation continue. First, I think that Tushnet over estimates the reliability of decisions made by the Supreme Court. Both Texas vs. Lawrence and Planned Parenthood vs. Casey are held by 6 to 3 majorities, which have quite possibly shrunk to 5 to 4 majorities following the appointments of Justices Roberts and Alito. All it takes is one more extremist appointment - by Bush or by a possible successor - to overturn both decisions. Compare those to Roe vs. Wade and Griswold v. Connecticut, which were decided on a 7 to 2 majority, or Brown vs. Board of Education and Hernandez v. Texas which was decided unanimously, and the soundness of the Court seems less a fortress but a fluke.

Furthermore, Tushnet ignores several areas where the Supreme Court's decision may be changing. In Edwards v. Aguillard (1987), the Supreme Court decided 7-2 that Creationism was not science, and could not be taught at schools. Today, it is quite possible that the majority has shrunk to a single vote (Scalia dissented then, and I am speculating that Roberts, like Rehnquist before him, would dissent, as would Alito and Thomas).

Possibly because it is not a Constitutional Law case, Tushnet only peripherally mentions "Bush vs. Gore", even though that decision gave the Presidency to Bush. In a more partisan Roberts Court, how many elections will be settled by the Judiciary? In "The Great Unraveling", Paul Krugman speculated that the Bush Junta is not dedicated to majority rule. Was he alarmist or prescient?

Also unmentioned goes the Bush administration's assault on Civil Liberties in its uses of the Patriot Acts, and in the US's holdings of people in Guantanamo and Abu Gharib prisons. The Supreme Court has been mostly deferential to the administration's abuse of both international Law and the Constitution in pursuit of its War on Terror. I think an easy prediction is that Roberts and Alito will walk that line.

Although Tushnet recounts the failed nomination of Robert Bork to the Supreme Court, I don't think that he quite captures the most important point. That is, since Bork was nominated, Conservative Republicans have hidden the opinions of their Supreme Court nominees. That tendency (also apparent in Liberal appointments like Ruth Ginsburg) reached a climax with the appointments of Roberts and Alito. As Tushnet writes "Judge Roberts 's performance at his confirmation hearings provide no clues as to what he would do as Chief Justice... no matter what their views, listeners could take comfort in Judge Roberts's words" (p.348). Since Bush confirmed that his model Justices where Scalia and Thomas (p.356), how moderate can we expect Roberts and Alito to be?

A Scalia-Thomas dominated court may very well overrule Roe v. Wade and Texas v. Lawrence. It may allow the President, via his War powers, virtually unlimited possibilities to limit the liberties of suspected Terrorists. It may even overrule Edwards v. Aguillard as allow Creationism at Public Schools. Maybe I'm paranoid, but I find it unnerving that only one vote may stand between us and that rough beast, its hour finally coming round, slouching towards Washington to be born.

Dry but academically appropriate.......2006-02-25

I read this book as to get a simple foundation/understanding of the U.S. Supreme Court and their historical trends covering the major issues talked about in society today. It is dry, typical book you would read before or during law school but would not recommend it for someone not interested in pursuing law.

an interesting appraisal.......2006-02-08

Books for well-read non-lawyers interested in the "behind-the-scenes" Supreme Court and its relationship to the Court's jurisprudence have been around for quite some time. Bernard Schwartz, beginning in the early 1980s, published a series of books on the Warren, Burger and early Rehnquist Courts, usually focusing on unpublished memoranda and draft opinions circulated among the justices. Bob Woodward and Scott Armstrong published a best-selling account of the Supreme Court -- The Brethern -- in the late 1970s. This book was fascinating, albeit quite gossipy. Edward Lazarus, in Closed Chambers, tried the Woodward/Armstrong trick for the late Burger/early Rehnquist Courts, leavening gossip concerning mutual antipathies among the justices with more doctrinal analysis.

Now comes Professor Tushnet's rewarding analysis of the Rehnquist Court. Tushnet's basic thesis is that the Supreme Court is not as radical as many Americans dissatisfied with their holdings might argue. Following the scholarly lead of eminent political scientists such as Robert Dahl, Tushnet argues that the Court follows the election returns. The justices usually reflect the various components of the successful political parties who earn the right to nominate and confirm them. Thus, Professor Tushnet argues, it makes sense to call the Supreme Court at various times in its history The New Deal Court, the Great Society Court, or the Reagan Court.

From this it follows that in the past thirty or so years, the Court has gradually come to reflect the GOP coalition that first emerged triumphant in 1968. But, Tushnet notes, this coalition has itself been non-cohesive, comprised of "traditional" and "modern" Republicans, who differ on starting principles, especially the emphasis that the Republican Party should give to either economic or social conservatism. This division has prevented the GOP from fulfilling its long term promise to overturn the legal liberalism of the Warren Court (as confirmed by the Burger Court). At least until 2004, Tushnet argues, conservative justices could not agree among themselves on such issues as abortion and sexual freedom, for example, with the upshot being that the Warren Court dispensation has held together.

Tushnet's thesis is interesting as far as it goes, but outside the area of individual rights, he does not connect the political and judicial worlds enough to sustain his thesis. For example, Tushnet provides very informative and interesting analysis of Rehnquist Court attempts to change the calculus of federalism and takings clause jurisprudence, but he never ties this to splits in the governing GOP coalition. How does the break between "traditional" and "modern" Republicans get reflected in these areas of consitutional law? Tushnet doesn't draw this picture particularly well.

Still, though, this is a valuable book. His biographical analyses of Rehnquist, O'Connor, Scalia and, especially, Thomas, are fascinating. Clarence Thomas, in fact, emerges from Tushnet's book as the figure most likely to unify the various strands of constitutional conservatism into a new conservative jurisprudential synthesis. The paperbook edition ends with an epilogue -- some Tushnetian analysis of the Court perhaps finally ready to shake off the Warren Court coil. Perhaps Clarence Thomas will be the ideological leader of that effort not, as alot of Court observers seem to think, Antonin Scalia.

Also, Tushnet does a very commendable job of presenting complex doctrinal developments in easy-to-understand terms for the intelligent lay reader. This is a book, then, that covers doctrinal and institutional developments without relying on a People Magazine's version of "life under the robes on the Supreme Court." For this reason I recommend this book for citizens interested in the Court and how it is affected by politics -- just be aware of the fact that Professor Tushnet does not always bring the narrative back to the book's overarching thesis.

A solid overview, but...........2006-01-24

In general, the author provides a valuable survey of the state of the Supreme Court during the Rehnquist years. Tushnet examines the obligatory areas of interest such as culture war conflicts, adjustments in the lines of federal vs. state powers, etc. At times these overviews are not as flowing and explanatory as this reader might wish. Various summations of cases and their Court opinions could be more lucid and less compressed, and more case quotations in the text would have enhanced the book for me. Still, this is a convenient compilation of Rehnquist Court activity for to those who prefer pre-analyzed assessments to digging through the cases themselves (a group to which many, including myself, surely belong). Depending upon the reader's own opinions, Tushnet's interjection (sometimes subtle, sometimes not) of his judgments of the justices and his perspectives on issues will either be a boon or an irritation. Tushnet prose unmistakably favors the liberal view and, for the most part, justices who best reflect those leanings. The author also seems to value graciousness in Court members over convictions, leading to disparagement of Justice Scalia whose opinions are often blunt but more consistent and predictable than those of, say, Justices O'Connor or Breyer. Although I am a fan of more balance than this book delivers, in fairness, absolute objectivity is not easily attainable vis-a-vis the emotion-laden realms the Supreme Court often treads, and a narrative with a viewpoint may sharpen the reader's own assessments of where the Supreme Court has been and where it will (and/or ought) to go. To the discerning student of the Supreme Court, then, this book can be a very useful tool.

Average customer rating:
Grasses of Temperate Australia: A Field Guide
C. Lamp
Manufacturer: Inkata Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0909605580

Book Description

SmartStart was designed to eliminate financial and bureaucratic confusion by providing you with the most current contact information for federal, state, and local agencies. It also offers a detailed explanation of the legal and practical considerations of setting up a small business, and contains a long list of up-to-the-minute regulatory requirements that can help you to determine the best structure for your company, find necessary financing, develop a marketing strategy, choose the right insurance, hire and keep loyal employees, and even set up and equip your office efficiently. Small Business Development Centers and entrepreneurial education programs throughout the country currently use and recommend SmartStart books to professionals and students alike.

Detailed, accurate, and jargon-free, SmartStart is an invaluable reference for any business and includes sample forms, a sample business plan, detailed economic and demographic information, and a comprehensive guide to money resources. In addition, its appendices contain brief descriptions of each regulatory agency and provide Web site addresses, phone numbers, and other pertinent contact information. Currently available for 46 states and the District of Columbia.

Download Description

Advertising Relevance and Results in the Age of the Internet, written by David Kenny (CEO, Digitas), focuses on topics such as the future of the advertising industry, the everlasting effects of the Internet and technology, client relationships, compensation, buying media, getting noticed, working in teams, building and sustaining brands, and other important topics. This chapter features "real world intelligence" knowledge excerpts on the advertising industry and is a great quick read summarizing the future of advertising and the major topics currently affecting the industry. The chapter also features proven management strategies practiced by this executive that can be altered or adapted upon for your own business. An insider's look inside the world of advertising makes for exciting and highly interesting reading for CEOs, executives, entrepreneurs, and every marketing, advertising and PR professional at any level. This chapter originally appeared in the book Inside the Minds: Leading Advertisers, also published by Aspatore.

Book Description

A lucid and original account of where money comes from and why most people and businesses are so heavily in debt. It explodes more myths than any other book this century, yet it's all about subjects very close to home: mortgages, building societies and banks, agriculture, transport, global poverty, and what's on the supermarket shelf. The author proposes a new mechanism for the supply of money, creating a supportive financial environment and a decreasing reliance on debt.

Customer Reviews:

READ SILVIO GESELL.......2005-07-27

Anyone interested in the topic of money and credit (debt), and the associated topic of economic crises, poverty etc, please

(...)

Although I very much like the work of Murray Rothbard and other austrian economists (von Mises) on monetary economics, they never understood the matter like Silvio Gesell did.

The solutions of the Austrian economists (free banking, without the cartel of the central bank) will not liberate the world. They just propose to go back to the system before monetary policy existed, which has rendered poverty for thousands of years.

Silvio Gesell on the other hand tracks down the very source of the problem. The solution he provides can easily be adapted to compete with our current system. Moreover, the system he proposes will always beat our current system, if the two will be allowed to compete. In the past it has already proven itself in Germany, Austria and the USA, and it has been cancelled each time for being TOO SUCCESSFULL!

Please people, read the pdf file, read the work of Silvio Gesell!
Also try to find a copy of his endearing and educative story about the island "Barataria".

Partially right but mostly wrong..........2005-06-28

The Grip of Death is a 326 page attempt to blame our current economic ills on the banking system. While the book makes many valid points about the evil of the current debt based monetary system the author's statist tendencies causes him to propose a solution that is no better than the system that he criticizes. It seems that Mr. Rowbotham has no real problem with irredeemable fiat currency that destroys the purchasing power of savers by continual expansion of the money supply as long as that destruction is directly caused by governments and not a banking cartel such as the current system. Of course, the problem with his solution is that the saver simply trades one unaccountable master for another.

As far as I am concerned the best book about money that has been written is Murray Rothbard's, What Has Government Done to Our Money. While he agrees with Rowbotham's critique of central banking, Rothbard presents a workable blueprint for a return to a stable monetary system that preserves the purchasing power of savers and elevates individual liberty over state greed and recklessnes. If your tendencies run towards Green Party socialism Rowbotham's book is for you. If you prefer liberty you will find Rothbard makes much more sense.

Vituperative responses seem organized.......2004-11-10

I also think everyone should read this book - if only for the eye-opening British and American monetary history. I also noticed that the vicious attackers' comments all came close upon one another at two dates - Oct and Dec, clustered within a few days. Looks like this book is making some one/institution very nervous. I say that vouches for it's accuracy (and that they had nothing factual to offer, outiside of name-calling.) Please read this book.

the detractors can't back up their claims.......2003-02-11

You'll notice that people either love it or hate it. Please also notice that the detractors don't offer any summary to rebuke the book's basic thesis. Monetary reformists disagree with allowing banks to control money by the creation of money within the fractional reserve banking pyramid of "credit" (read DEBT). The debts of governments never decrease. Reduction of government debt actually hurts the economy (if you consider lack of growth to be a negative). Multiply the average per capita income of the U.S. by the popuplation of the U.S. and you'll yield a rough estimate of the amount of money in circulation (notice I said in circulation, not sent off to Swiss bank accounts). Guess what that number is always approximately equal to? It equals the debt of the U.S. government, about $6.4 trillion as I write this - a debt owed mainly to the financial establishment, the "elites" of the world who live off usury. How do the people who hate this book explain such facts? They don't. They can't explain the creation of money because they just don't get it. They are defenders of the status quo. They want us to believe that our money is honest so the privileged can retain the appearance of having earned their respected positions.

I don't think Rowbotham wants to abolish money. He's only asking for a more genuine and democratic monetary system. Let governments create money for themselves - no borrowing from the rich money that can never be paid back. Conservatives shout and wail that such a method would cause inflation. SO! Inflation happens in the current system. If you create more money, all vendors will raise their prices to try to scoop up those new dollars in circulation. The problem is that the wealthy control that very creation by fractional reserve banking - lending out more money than they really have to lend, which they are able to do because money is not a physical thing, but instead just numbers on ledgers. If you don't see a problem there, you've simply been duped by years of believing that banks are somehow honest institutions...

Able to confuse some.......2002-12-04

Judging by some of the reviews posted here some people who have looked at this book feel like they have stumbled onto something profound and new.

The same reviewers also use the words: 'disturbing' and 'confusing'.

This is a book written by a hack who preys on those 'disturbed' and 'confused' minds by quoting some eminent people out of context, using some real statistics then drawing absurd conclusions.

I was lent a copy in April this year and browsed this site out of curiosity and was surprised to see so many people had read it. My understanding is that most of the original print run had to be pulped, and the copy I was lent was a rarity. When I read it I could see why.

Poorly written, poorly researched, full of errors of fact and logic (too many to remember now 6 months after reading the book). The title is memorable but perhaps better suited to a B grade horror flick. The publisher was embarassed, I am sure. The author appears to have been swept away in his own world and is probably busy today muttering in some alley-way about lack of coins, and the coming end of the world due to shortage of such.

Apparently there are still some 2nd hand copies available. It's a buyer's market, I would say...

Book Description

e-Commerce is big business and getting bigger every day. By 2002, experts predict, 490 million people throughout the world will have internet access. e-Service is a must read for anyone in business. Whether you are currently selling products of services via the Internet, or are planning to institute a cyberspace operation, this is one book you don't want to miss. Tschohl tells you, in an easy to read format, how e-service, technology and price bulit around service cab form a winng combination that will drive your business forward.

Customer Reviews:

Lets go gack to the basics: a powerful concept.......2001-05-08

This book is about two things: 1) How to make money through a fanatic level of customer service; 2) How to use technology to get closer to the customer (instead of alienating people).

When organizations forget the reason because they exist (to create value for shareholders and customers), then they fail.

As I was reading this book, I could only wonder why so many companies have been so blind: when customers receive great, unbeliebable customer service, they buy more, they come back, and they talk about it.

John Tschohl teaches exactly HOW to build an organization in which everyone is involved in the commitment of making customers feel happy, so they make you more money. A fairly simple concept. But a powerful one.

Solid and practical.......2001-04-13

E-Service is a practical and logical book. It will provide focus and meaningful direction for my team. The author's passion for superior customer service is driven throughout all of his books.

At last, the bible of how to make a "Dot Com" profitable!.......2001-04-05

EXCELENT!! - FIVE STARS!! John Tschohl's books have been my secret weapon since his first book years ago.

What I just read in his new e-Service is exactly the missing link for dot coms: how to keep customers coming back again and again.

If you are on a leadership position in any company involved on e-commerce, you MUST buy this book right away. And when you do, you'll agree with me that it's worth the reading time by a factor of a thousand, for e-Service describes exactly what is the secret to making money on the Web (and HOW you can take advantage of it NOW).

"Stand Out From The Crowd With e-Service".......2001-03-04

John Tschohl's book will challenge you to think about your business and what you have not been doing.

It will hit you over the head like a 2 x 4 and bring you to the realization that you literally have 1000's of competitors that may sell the same product,at the same price,or even for less, and the only thing that you have to differentiate is "your exceptional and noteable e-Service".

How's your "e-Service" doing? Is it costing you thousands of dollars of lost sales or is it a primary profit center?

This book will fill your mind with multiple ideas on how to make e-Service a trademark of your company that drives sales.

The book was very easy to read and follow. I enjoyed splitting it up over four days to give myself more time to absorb this powerful message of necessary change.

Book Description

A distinctive feature of the last decade has been the drastic change in the financial systems of the world due to globalization and innovation. The changes have resulted in more market-oriented systems and have required re-designing of existing financial institutions and markets, corporate governance and regulatory frameworks in order to achieve sustainable economic development. The East Asian crisis and prolonged depression in Japan have heightened the need to redesign financial systems in the region. This book deliberates on some urgent issues that face the new architecture of the financial systems in Japan and East Asia. The book is broken into three sections:

*The role of financial institutions and markets in economic development in Japan and East Asia
*Issues in corporate governance and new technologies
*The designing of efficient financial systems

With contributions from leading Asian economics experts based around the world, this book will be useful to both scholars and professionals with an interest in financial systems, corporate financing and governance.

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