Capitalism Unbound

This book is a concise explanation of capitalism's moral and economic superiority to socialism, including America's current mixed-economy welfare state. This volume offers a focused, essentialized, and condensed argument ideal for the layman who admires capitalism but lacking a succinct, accessible explanation of its moral and economic virtues.

Leading experts analyze the impact of the rapid growth of offshore outsourcing in manufacturing and IT. For some it promises more rapid economic growth and for some developing countries it is an opportunity to leapfrog, while others are sidelined but it also means labour and governments may lose bargaining power vis-à-vis globally mobile capital.

A road map for the future of the world market "Bryan has emerged as an influential voice on regulatory issues. "--The New York Times The world is on the verge of the most sweeping economic changes since the Industrial Revolution. National economies are transforming from government-controlled market systems into an open international marketplace under no one's control. The consequences will be both exhilarating and terrifying. Market Unbound is the first compelling blueprint for adapting to this new global market. According to McKinsey and Company authors Lowell Bryan and Diana Farrell, this revolution will have a profound effect on all sectors of business and finance. The global economic scene has already undergone profound and irreversible changes, but most of the transformation still lies ahead of us. Those who learn to operate under the new system will have the opportunity for tremendous profit. Those who don't face the specter of catastrophic loss. Market Unbound outlines how the global market came into being and why it is so powerful, and why it is so rapidly accelerating the globalization of the world's entire economy. The authors explore the implications of this evolving market force and examine the consequences and the opportunities for governments, investors, corporations, and financial organizations. Market Unbound is a must read for anyone who hopes to thrive or even survive into the 21st century. * Based on extensive research conducted at McKinsey &Co--the world's premiere consulting firm * Case studies and relevant examples illustrate the patterns of market change currently taking place * Reveals how a government's ability to exercise control over its own financial system is being undermined by the global capital market LOWELL BRYAN and DIANA FARRELL (New York, New York) are consultants at McKinsey & Co. He is the author of three previous business books and a leading authority on financial regulatory issues and global capital markets. She led the research efforts underpinning the book's conclusions.

This groundbreaking volume is the first comprehensive, critical examination of the rise of protected areas and their current social and economic position in our world. It examines the social impacts of protected areas, the conflicts that surround them, the alternatives to them and the conceptual categories they impose. The book explores key debates on devolution, participation and democracy; the role and uniqueness of indigenous peoples and other local communities; institutions and resource management; hegemony, myth and symbolic power in conservation success stories; tourism, poverty and conservation; and the transformation of social and material relations which community conservation entails. For conservation practitioners and protected area professionals not accustomed to criticisms of their work, or students new to this complex field, the book will provide an understanding of the history and current state of affairs in the rise of protected areas. It introduces the concepts, theories and writers on which critiques of conservation have been built, and provides the means by which practitioners can understand problems with which they are wrestling. For advanced researchers the book will present a critique of the current debates on protected areas and provide a host of jumping off points for an array of research avenues

Many fear that efforts to address inequality will undermine the economy as a whole. But the opposite is true: rising inequality has become a drag on growth and an impediment to market competition. Heather Boushey breaks down the problem and argues that we can preserve our nation's economic traditions while promoting shared economic growth.

The US is facing enormous challenges as it enters the second decade of the twenty-first century. Some of these major issues are environmentalism and its claim of global warming; the danger from terrorism generated by Islamic fundamentalism; and affordable, quality health care. Additionally, education in America remains an unresolved dilemma contributing to America’s lack of economic competitiveness. Andrew Bernstein argues that the US government is pushing the nation toward socialism in its attempt to resolve America’s problems. The government’s increasing control of the banking industry, its massive bailouts of auto makers, and its proposal of emissions legislation are also examples of the expansion of government’s power. Bernstein argues that whatever the intentions of the government, or its illusions about the workability of its proposals, morally upright and practical solutions can only come from moving to the opposite end of the political-economic spectrum: the establishment of laissez-faire capitalism. In Atlas Shrugged, and in her non-fiction works, Ayn Rand developed a systematic body of thought, a comprehensive philosophy she dubbed “Objectivism.” This philosophy has been neglected by most professional intellectuals, but it is now beginning to be seriously studied in academic philosophy departments. Objectivism provides the moral and philosophic validation of the political-economic principles of individual rights and free markets. Analysis of today’s gravest social and political issues within this philosophic framework, as undertaken by Bernstein in this volume, constitutes a unique way of identifying rational solutions to these pressing issues.

The first work that covers the post-Communist development of historical studies in six Eastern European countries: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. A uniquely critical and qualitative analysis from a comparative and critical perspective, written by scholars from the region itself. Focusing on the first post-Communist decade, 1989–1999, the book offers a longer-term perspective that includes the immediate 'prehistory' of that momentous decade as well as its 'posthistoire'. The authors capture the spirit of 1989, that heady mix of elation, surprise, determination, and hope: l'ivresse du possible. This was the paradoxical beginning of Eastern European post-Communism: ushered in by 'anti-Utopian' revolutions, and slowly finding its course towards a bureaucratic, imitative, challenging, and anachronistic restoration of a capitalism that had changed almost beyond recognition when it had mutated into the negative double of Communism. Each individual chapter has numerous and detailed notes and references.

Critical Sociology is a thoroughly revised, updated, and sophisticated introduction to the sociological perspective as a critical lens on society. Much has happened since the first edition: the Great Recession, the Obama presidency, the burgeoning role of social media, and recent global social movements such the Tea Party, Occupy Wall Street, and the Arab Spring. In this second edition, Buechler discusses the changing relationship between social movements and democracy. The book contains chapters on how to think sociologically; an overview of scientific, humanistic, and critical schools of sociology; and a detailed exposition of the critical tradition.