This book investigates the way that corporations are strategically shaping children to be hyper-consumers as well as the submissive employees and uncritical citizens of the future.*BR**BR*Sharon Beder shows how marketers and advertisers are targeting ever younger children in a relentless campaign, transforming children's play into a commercial opportunity and taking advantage of childish anxieties.*BR**BR*She presents an alarming picture of how a child's social development - through education, health care and nutrition - has become an ordered conveyor belt of consumerist conditioning. Focusing on education in particular, she also shows how 'difficult' children are taught from an early age that pharmaceuticals can be used to discipline them or to make them 'happy'.
The success and failures of British automobile workers
A comprehensive survey of the effect of US military bases abroad, including the movements against them.
Argues that destruction of Iraqi culture was aimed at remaking Iraq into a US client state
This book is about the people who always get taken for granted. The people who clean our offices and trains, care for our elders and change the sheets on the bed. Global Cities at Work draws on testimony collected from more than 800 foreign-born workers employed in low-paid jobs in London during the early years of the twenty-first century.*BR**BR*This book breaks new ground in linking London's new migrant division of labour to the twin processes of subcontracting and increased international migration that have been central to contemporary processes of globalisation.*BR**BR*It also raises the level of debate about migrant labour, encouraging us to look behind the headlines. The authors ask us to take a politically informed view of our urban labour markets and to prioritise the issue of poverty in underemployed communities.
American history is not often truthfully told. Dispelling the myths that have bolstered national myth making, Paul Atwood attempts to show Americans that their history is one of constant wars of aggression and imperial expansion.*BR**BR*From the declaration of Independence to present day, War and Empire takes a panoramic view of US military history, explaining US actions in every major war, from early combat with aboriginal nations, imperialist conflicts with Spain, to the war on terror. The book shows that, far from being dragged reluctantly into foreign entanglements, America's leaders have always picked its battles in order to increase their influence and power, with little regard for the American soldiers and 'enemy' civilians killed or made to suffer in the process.*BR**BR*This book is an eye-opening introduction to the American way of life for undergraduate students of American history, politics and international relations.
Neoliberals often point to improvements in public health and nutrition as examples of globalisation's success, but this book argues that the corporate food and medicine industries are destroying environments and ruining living conditions across the world. *BR**BR*Scientist Stan Cox expertly draws out the strong link between Western big business and environmental destruction. This is a shocking account of the huge damage that drug manufacturers and large food corporations are inflicting on the health of people and crops worldwide. Companies discussed include Wal-Mart, GlaxoSmithKline, Tyson Foods and Monsanto. On issues ranging from the poisoning of water supplies in South Asia to natural gas depletion and how it threatens global food supplies, Cox shows how the demand for profits is always put above the public interest.*BR**BR*While individual efforts to 'shop for a better world' and conserve energy are laudable, Cox explains that they need to be accompanied by an economic system that is grounded in ecological sustainability if we are to find a cure for our Sick Planet.
This book compares Islamic and Western political formulations, highlighting areas of agreement and disparity. Building on this analysis, the author goes on to show that political Islam offers a serious alternative to the dominant political system and ideology of the West.*BR**BR*Sabet argues that rather than leading to a 'Clash of Civlizations' or the assimilation of Islam into the Western system, a positive process of interactive self-reflection between Islam and liberal democracy is the best way forward.*BR**BR*Beginning this process, Sabet highlights key concepts of Islamic political thought and brings them into dialogue with Western modernity. The resulting synthesis is essential reading for advanced undergraduate and graduate students of Islamic and Middle Eastern politics, political theory, comparative politics and international relations.
The World Bank is a controversial organisation. It is widely viewed with suspicion, as the international economic arm of the US, in thrall to the President who is responsible for appointing the head of the Bank.*BR**BR*Eric Toussaint gives a highly readable account of just why the World Bank has become so powerful. In short, clear chapters he shows how the bank operates, who funds it, and what it sets out to promote. *BR**BR*The Bank's main purpose is to grant loans to all the newly independent states of the developing world, to help them on their journey to recovery after colonial occupation. In reality, the conditions imposed on these states - including enforced privatisation of all public services, and enforced neo-liberal rules on trade - mean that the Bank has become the new colonial authority in everything but name.
Fidel Castro's most original contribution to revolutionary and radical thought has been his development of an explicit ethical position on one of the most controversial issues of our time: violence. This book explores the evolution of Castro's political thinking - and in particular how he philosophically reconciles violence, political power and morality.*BR**BR*This book makes a timely intervention into the question of Castro's historical role and contribution. The author argues that Castro's doctrine of armed struggle is the logical development of his idea of the ethical liberation fighter. At its core is an unremitting emphasis on the ethical use of violence.
'The best book so far about Derrida's politics of the future.' J. Hillis Miller, University of California
The book explores what characterises a 'good life' and how this idea has been affected by globalisation and neoliberalism.
Ireland is going through a period of unprecedented economic and cultural growth and renewal. These changes are due in part to neoliberal policies that have attracted foreign investment. *BR**BR*The globalization of Ireland's economy has had major social consequences. Living standards are rising quickly. Emigration has reversed. Catholicism has been secularized, laws on divorce and sexuality have been liberalized and Ireland has become an urban society for the first time. *BR**BR*But there is stark inequality and social exclusion; epidemics of depression, alcoholism, and obesity; traditional values and community are declining; and there is deep ambivalence towards immigrants. Ireland's economy is globalized, but is Irish society cosmopolitan? Wealth has increased, but has quality of life improved? The authors explore the developments of the last 15 years, capturing the intensity of the debates that make up the new cosmopolitan multi-cultural Ireland.
Examines art and censorship in the current political climate
Rayna and her husband Bill edited the Kuomintang's English-language newspaper in Wuhan. Rayna's account of her intimate involvement in the Chinese Revolution brings to life the eventful Wuhan years of 1926-27, which shaped the revolution's course. Her letters illuminate from a personal angle the battle for China's future and include remarkable portraits of some of the people who shaped the Communist and Nationalist movements of the time.*BR**BR*The book consists of letters Prohme wrote to her closest friend and her husband in the period immediately before, during and after the Wuhan interlude. Her reporting brought her into contact with many major political figures including Madam Sun Yat-sen (a prominent figure in the opposition to Chiang Kai-shek) and Mikhail Borodin (a chief Soviet advisor in China). *BR**BR*This book provides an unusual and often moving insight into a fascinating period in modern Chinese history.
An expose of what really goes on behind the closed doors of state power
Iraq stands on the edge of civil war. As sectarian killings escalate, and troops become more deeply entrenched, is there any prospect of an exit strategy? Into the Long War examines events in Iraq since May 2005 and how they impact on other countries including Afghanistan, Iran and the wider Middle East. *BR**BR*Bringing together the extensive analysis of the renowned Oxford Research Group, the book charts a tumultuous period in the conflict, including a wider international perspective on the terrorist attacks in London and Sharm al Sheik, and an assessment of how US public opinion has changed as the war drags on.*BR**BR*Rogers offers a clear and compelling account of an invasion that was meant to take a matter of weeks - and that now threatens to engulf an entire region for many years to come.
Examines the influence of McCarthyism and the CIA on anthropology in the cold war era.
The story of the longest legal proceedings in British history in the raw words of those most intimately involved.
The political dynamics of the European Union can often appear confusing, shrouded as they are in complex legislative processes. This book offers a clear and thorough critical introduction to the origins, development and current direction of the EU, and pinpoints the major policy debates animating decision-makers.*BR**BR*This revised and updated edition offers a well-illustrated analysis of each of the EU's major policy areas, and covers arguments both for and against the EU. McGiffen explores subjects including enlargement, internal and external security, the Euro, trade, the environment, employment, transport and regional policy. He explains how and why the debate about membership is frequently and falsely presented as if it were a conflict between 'nationalism' and 'internationalism', and argues instead that the EU is merely one of a number of possible solutions to the the economic and political problems facing Europe.*BR**BR*Published in association with Spectre.
The struggle between Israel and the Palestinians is not unique, whatever the media may suggest. Lorenzo Veracini argues that the conflict is best understood in terms of colonialism, as like many other societies, Israel is a settler society. Looking at the evolution of other colonial regimes - apartheid South Africa, French Algeria and Australia - Veracini presents a thoughtful interpretation of the dynamics of colonialism.*BR**BR*He challenges two important myths: firstly, that the Israeli-Palestinian dispute is unique and defies comparative approaches; and secondly that the struggle is mainly based in nationality and religion and therefore different to typical colonial conflicts. *BR**BR*Comparing and contrasting 'official' apartheid regimes with the more recent history of Israel and Palestine, he offers a critical perspective on colonialism as well as important new insights into patterns of imperialism today.
'As Americans, we need to face up to our own reliance on nuclear intimidation. This is an important book for Americans of all political stripes to read.' Cynthia Enloe, author of The Curious Feminist: Searching for Women in a New Age of Empire"e;At a time when nuclear weapons are increasingly in the political spotlight, this book is essential reading ... Joseph Gerson has provided a work of the utmost importance: a key to understanding - and challenging - US global domination and its nuclear core."e; Kate Hudson, Chair, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament"e;Brilliant. I have not read a more important book in many years. Gerson has uncovered the radioactive vein in our secret foreign policy. ... Gerson's work helps us understand why the likelihood of nuclear war is greater now than before the fall of the Berlin Wall. A terrific book."e; Daniel Ellsberg, former senior Pentagon official and co-author of The Pentagon Papers The United States is the only country to have dropped the atomic bomb. Since the A-bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, every U.S. president has threatened nuclear war.This concise history shows how the U.S. has used nuclear weapons to bolster its imperial ambitions. Leading nuclear specialist and peace campaigner Joseph Gerson explains why atomic weapons were first built and used -- and how the U.S. uses them today to preserve its global empire. Gerson reveals how and why the U.S. made more than twenty threats of nuclear attack during the Cold War -- against Russia, China, Vietnam, and the Middle East. He shows how such theats continued under Presidents Bush and Clinton, and George W. Bush.The book concludes with an appeal for nuclear weapons abolition and an overview of the history of the anti-nuclear movement. Drawing from a wide range of sources, this fascinating and timely account shows how the U.S. has used nuclear weapons to dominate the world.
Language Wars is a fascinating account of the relationship between the media, culture and new forms of global, political violence. Using an innovative approach, Jeff Lewis shows how language and the media are implicated in global terrorism and the US-led reprisals in the war on terror. *BR**BR*Through an examination of the language of terrorism and war, Lewis illuminates key events in the current wave of political violence - the 9/11 attacks on New York and the Pentagon, the Beslan siege, the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, the Bali bombings and the ongoing occupation in the Middle East. He argues that the language used to report incidents of violence has changed, not just in official channels but in wider cultural contexts, and shows the impact this has on social perceptions. Lewis deconstructs these new discourses to reveal how Islam has been construed as the antagonist of freedom, democracy and the rule of law. Ideal for students of media studies and cultural studies, this is a subtle account of the relation between language and culture that exposes a dangerous new east-west divide in popular discourse.
--A revised and expanded edition of this acclaimed introduction to political thought--*BR**BR*'Reliable and fair... Clear, relaxed, jargon-free and often attractively witty.' The Philosopher*BR**BR*'A handbook of the history of political philosophy.' CHOICE*BR**BR*"e;The central advantages of this book are undoubtedly its lucidity, range and unorthodox approach. ... This wide range is covered with surprising agility and clarity. The book offers an engaging account of political philosophy where great schools of thought are audaciously summarised in a paragraph or two."e; Times Higher Education Supplement*BR**BR*Guiding the reader through the key arguments of the classic figures of Western political philosophy, from Plato through to the modern era, this revised edition includes new essays on Aristotle's 'Politics', Confucianism, Islamic social philosophy and Nazism, as well as additional material on 'Roman Law', Anarchism and 'anti-capitalism'.*BR**BR*Cohen moves chronologically through the development of political philosophy. He presents key texts in their own terms, before offering short, precise analyses of their strengths, weaknesses and influence. The book finishes with a discussion of modern liberalism and conservatism.*BR**BR*Providing both a broad overview and precise summaries of key ideas, this is an invaluable guide for all students of political thought.
Why is fear a dominant emotion in contemporary society? Why are politicians using words like 'terror', 'evil' and 'fundamentalism', and what effect is it having on public consciousness?*BR**BR*This book taps into the cultural psyche to explore the link between ideology and emotional and psychological manipulation. It shows that the Bush administration has been hugely successful in controlling and developing a new political climate through the creation of an almost hypnotic mass consciousness. *BR**BR*From the sado-masochist hysteria of Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ to the atrocities at Abu Ghraib prison; and from the genocidal use of depleted uranium in Iraq to the apocalyptic language driving the Christian Right's assault on basic human rights.*BR**BR*Davis's findings take us to the heart of the ideological paralysis of the Left, while offering an innovative approach to understanding contemporary history.
Why the concept of individuality is important to people
This book explores the way that neoliberal policies have formed the basis of political transformation in Poland, championed by both post-communist and post-Solidarity governments. *BR**BR*Poland was central to the historic changes that took place across Eastern Europe at the end of the Cold War. It is the largest economy in the region, and was at the forefront of opposition to communism. Since then, neoliberal policies have controlled the country.*BR**BR*This book assesses the impact of these policies, the role of capital in the form of transnational corporations and foreign direct investment. The revival of trade unions and growth of new social movements are also explored as they challenge Poland's new capitalism.
'One of the most important books in recent years. I cannot recommend it highly enough.' Robert W. McChesney
There exists today a tragic rift between Americans and the world's Muslims. Yet in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, there was widespread sympathy for the US throughout the Muslim world. *BR**BR*This book explores what happened. It examines the disconnect that leads Americans and Muslims to view the same words and images in fundamentally different ways. Partly a result of a centuries-old 'us' against 'them' dichotomy, the problem is exacerbated by an increasingly polarised media and by leaders on both sides who either don't understand or don't care what impact their words and policies have in the world at large.*BR**BR*Reflections in a Bloodshot Lens argues that the Arab media revolution and the rise of 'patriot-journalists' in the US marginalised voices of moderation, distorting perceptions on both sides of the divide with potentially disastrous results.
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