The Soul of Capitalism

[C hristian]

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0684862190.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

[C hristian]

Amazon.com
American society is a culture of paradoxes. Never has a country produced such great abundance, yet never have we had to work such long hours to sustain a quality of life marred by corporate exploitation and senseless consumerism. Collectively, our middle class possesses massive wealth, yet we are currently powerless to effect substantial change in both the capitalist or democratic systems. We have irresponsibly destroyed the world's natural resources, yet--as in the past--our "daring innovation" may help resolve the calamitous ecological crisis we have created in the first place. In his sixth book, The Soul of Capitalism: Opening Paths to a Moral Economy, William Greider attempts to discover "how and why our brilliant economic system collides with so many of society's broader aspirations and regularly frustrates them." How did these paradoxes develop and how will they be redressed? Greider flatly states that his intention is not to discuss a utopian ideal, but rather to relate his "conviction that the arrangements within capitalism can be changed, little by little, to make more space for life through innovations that eventually become common practice." Greider creates a sobering picture of the obstacles we must overcome if we are ever to re-establish "an authentic democracy," one that truly serves the values of the majority and not just the wealthy few and the status quo. Indeed his descriptions of the deleterious effects of capitalism on the environment, the American workforce (white and blue collar alike), and the very fabric of American life expose an urgent need for change. Greider maintains that the strength of the capitalist system is its adaptability. Therefore, despite his frank admission that substantial change will be difficult and a long time in coming, his catalogue of small successes and localized reform initiatives lend credibility to his hopeful claim that "the corporate institution is ripe for reinvention." --Silvana Tropea
From Publishers Weekly
The good news is, American capitalism has "solved the economic problem" of overcoming scarcity, says veteran journalist Greider, currently with the Nation. Most Americans live materially comfortable lives. The bad news: capitalism seems increasingly dysfunctional and alienating, and fundamentally conflicts with humanity's noneconomic values. Greider says we have the luxury and responsibility now to repair this, to transform the essential purpose of our economic system from the relentless pursuit...read more
Book Description

In his previous bestsellers, Who Will Tell the Peopleand Secrets of the Temple,William Greider laid bare the inner workings of American politics and the Federal Reserve, revealing how they often work against the interests of the majority. Now, in The Soul of Capitalism,Greider examines how the greatest wealth-creation engine in the history of the world is failing most of us, why it must be changed, and how intrepid pioneers are beginning to transform it.
Public outrage over crooked corporate officers, the looting of pension funds, the defrauding of stockholders, and the wholesale firing of hardworking employees has reached a new high. But Greider argues that our anger has deeper roots, as he analyzes how our relentless pursuit of unprecedented affluence has eroded family life, eaten away at our sense of personal and professional security, corroded our communities, impoverished our spiritual lives, and devastated our natural environment. The solution, he contends, will come not from activist government, the politics of the past, or more government regulation (the usual response of liberals), but from a fundamental realignment of power that, he promises, is already under way on many fronts.
The Soul of Capitalismshows us where to find the leverage for changing the system. Reformers appear in surprising variety, from conservative business managers to small-town civic leaders, social agitators and ecologists, labor leaders and farmers. Greider offers many up-and-running examples -- of workers becoming owners, of pension funds withdrawing their capital from polluters, of small companies learning how to operate profitably while caring for employees and the environment, of governments reforming their public works.
Brilliantly perceptive and sweeping in its ambition, The Soul of Capitalismis also hardheaded and practical as one of our most eloquent populist spokesmen assures us why we are not powerless. Greider illustrates how American capitalism can be aligned more faithfully and obediently with what people want and need in their lives, with what American society needs for a healthy, balanced, and humane future. He proves that it is within our power to reinvent capitalism to make it work for us.
The Soul of Capitalism-- solid, pragmatic, visionary, optimistic -- addresses the nation's most urgent needs.

[C hristian]

http://www.williamgreider.com/books/soul/

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0684862190/qid=1068635726/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_1/103-1787719-3656661?v=glance&n=507846

[mdpm99]

I opened your package.

d

Ps. Book l@@ks interesting

[mdpm99]

Pps. The Flagg follows the dollar.

[C hristian]

book on tape too. those are great.

this book is REALLY good! And I'm only on page 28!

[C hristian]

Hey D! No anthrax? WEll, you won't know for the next day, I guess..

:D

[C hristian]

in the first chapter or so, we are promiced a look at those few brave individuals out there who are testing new ways to improve capitalism. make it more inline with the our humanity, essentially.

[mdpm99]

Originally posted by C hristian:
in the first chapter or so, we are promiced a look at those few brave individuals out there who are testing new ways to improve capitalism. make it more inline with the our humanity, essentially. "green energy"

[C hristian]

you got it!

[C hristian]

Life is but the exchange, the flow of energy.

[C hristian]

just a bump