Anti Social Rebooting Capitalism And The American Dream

Is capitalism evil? That seems to be the narrative that has emerged in the wake of the burst housing bubble. This book reexamines what we "know" about capitalism. This reexamining is based on the author's personal journey over the last couple of years to try and understand what caused the housing bubble in the first place. While this book promotes what the author believes are the benefits of capitalism, everyday examples are used to let you compare what is presented with your own personal experiences. Give it a read and be a part of rebooting the American Dream!

A forceful, inspiring, and actionable plan to reshape our economic system to ensure that all members of society thrive.

“If we are going to live in a democracy, we need to have a healthy middle class . . . tells us what needs to be done to reclaim what it is to be American.” —Eric Utne, founder, Utne Reader America does not need an “upgrade.” For years the Right has been tampering with one of the best political operating systems ever designed. The result has been economic and environmental disaster. In this hard-hitting book, nationally syndicated radio and television host and bestselling author Thom Hartmann outlines eleven common-sense proposals, deeply rooted in America’s history, that will once again make America strong and Americans—not corporations and billionaires—prosperous. Some of these ideas will be controversial to both the Left and the Right, but the litmus test for each is not political correctness—but whether or not it serves to revitalize this country we all love and make life better for its citizens.

This provocative book interrogates the ideology of capitalism as the "default" narrative underpinning various mainstream ideologies in the contemporary world. The book explores the genesis, structure and functioning of this ideological narrative, provides its critical assessment and outlines a possible alternative, beyond the logic of capitalism and toward a truly free and democratic society. The book takes a broad view of the major global challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic, and persuasively argue that, in order to resolve any of the major global problems, from the ongoing ecological crisis to economic and geopolitical issues, we need to confront the capitalist system. To unpack the logic of contemporary capitalist ideology, and the way it structures our inter-personal and political relations, the book gives an analysis of the "end of ideology" narrative and offers a critical assessment of the ideas behind the widely used but fundamentally flawed concept of "Liberal democracy." The book revisits metaphysical foundations behind the ideology of capitalism, exposing their secular-religious dimension, and their immanent oppressiveness. Based on this deconstruction of the metaphysical foundations implicit in (Neo)Liberalism and capitalism, the book offers a way in which alternative metaphysical foundations can be constructed to allow for different socio-political and economic models that would be based on a radical affirmation of freedom and democracy, as well as human responsibility for the natural environment. Beyond Capitalist Dystopia: Reclaiming Freedom and Democracy in the Age of Global Crises will be of great interest to anyone searching for alternatives to the pervasive ideology of capitalism as well as students and researchers active in various fields in the humanities and social sciences.

A New York Times Bestseller A Wall Street Journal Bestseller A New York Times Notable Book of 2020 A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice Shortlisted for the Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year A New Statesman Book to Read From economist Anne Case and Nobel Prize winner Angus Deaton, a groundbreaking account of how the flaws in capitalism are fatal for America's working class Deaths of despair from suicide, drug overdose, and alcoholism are rising dramatically in the United States, claiming hundreds of thousands of American lives. Anne Case and Angus Deaton explain the overwhelming surge in these deaths and shed light on the social and economic forces that are making life harder for the working class. As the college educated become healthier and wealthier, adults without a degree are literally dying from pain and despair. Case and Deaton tie the crisis to the weakening position of labor, the growing power of corporations, and a rapacious health-care sector that redistributes working-class wages into the pockets of the wealthy. This critically important book paints a troubling portrait of the American dream in decline, and provides solutions that can rein in capitalism's excesses and make it work for everyone.

Discover the technologies and trends that threaten humanity and our planet--- and how we can rein them back in, together In The Unintended Consequences of Technology: Solutions, Breakthroughs and the Restart We Need, accomplished tech entrepreneur Chris Ategeka delivers an insightful and eye-opening exploration of the challenges and the opportunities at the intersection of technology, society and our planet. Detailing both positive and negative technology use cases that on one hand have made humanity better, but on the other hand pose a serious threat to individuals and groups across the world, the author demonstrates how to avoid allowing powerful technologies to overcome our better natures. In this book, you'll: Discover how the forces of capitalism, greed and the myths that surround meritocracy when combined with exponential technology pose an existential risk for humanity. Explore the many exponential technologies such as gene editing, 5G, behavior modification, cyberspace… that have lots of promise but also uncertainty. Consider the future of humanity we wish to collectively build, and whether we can rebuild a capacity for empathy at scale in our tech tools Perfect for founders, business leaders, executives, managers, Chief Technology Officers, and anyone else [i.e. all human beings] responsible for the use and proliferation of advanced technologies. The Unintended Consequences of Technology is a thought-provoking, must-read resource for those at the forefront of our new technological reality.

A fascinating look at the evolution of behavioral science, the revolutionary way it’s changing the way we live, and how nurturing environments can increase people’s well-being in virtually every aspect of our society, from early childhood education to corporate practices. If you want to know how you can help create a better world, read this book. What if there were a way to prevent criminal behavior, mental illness, drug abuse, poverty, and violence? Written by behavioral scientist Tony Biglan, and based on his ongoing research at the Oregon Research Institute, The Nurture Effect offers evidence-based interventions that can prevent many of the psychological and behavioral problems that plague our society. For decades, behavioral scientists have investigated the role our environment plays in shaping who we are, and their research shows that we now have the power within our own hands to reduce violence, improve cognitive development in our children, increase levels of education and income, and even prevent future criminal behaviors. By cultivating a positive environment in all aspects of society—from the home, to the classroom, and beyond—we can ensure that young people arrive at adulthood with the skills, interests, assets, and habits needed to live healthy, happy, and productive lives. The Nurture Effect details over forty years of research in the behavioral sciences, as well as the author’s own research. Biglan illustrates how his findings lay the framework for a model of societal change that has the potential to reverberate through all environments within society.

An Amazon Best History Book of 2019 "A splendid and beautifully written illustration of the tremendous importance public policy has for the daily lives of ordinary people." —Ryan Cooper, Washington Monthly Over the last generation, the United States has undergone seismic changes. Stable institutions have given way to frictionless transactions, which are celebrated no matter what collateral damage they generate. The concentration of great wealth has coincided with the fraying of social ties and the rise of inequality. How did all this come about? In Transaction Man, Nicholas Lemann explains the United States’—and the world’s—great transformation by examining three remarkable individuals who epitomized and helped create their eras. Adolf Berle, Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s chief theorist of the economy, imagined a society dominated by large corporations, which a newly powerful federal government had forced to become benign and stable institutions, contributing to the public good by offering stable employment and generous pensions. By the 1970s, the corporations’ large stockholders grew restive under this regime, and their chief theoretician, Harvard Business School’s Michael Jensen, insisted that firms should maximize shareholder value, whatever the consequences. Today, Silicon Valley titans such as the LinkedIn cofounder and venture capitalist Reid Hoffman hope “networks” can reknit our social fabric. Lemann interweaves these fresh and vivid profiles with a history of the Morgan Stanley investment bank from the 1930s through the financial crisis of 2008, while also tracking the rise and fall of a working-class Chicago neighborhood and the family-run car dealerships at its heart. Incisive and sweeping, Transaction Man is the definitive account of the reengineering of America and the enormous impact it has had on us all.