Globalization And Its Terrors

It has long been realised that the poorer countries of the south have paid for the unstoppable onward rush of globalisation in the exploitation of their natural and human resources. Recent events have made it clear that there may be a price to be paid in the west as well. In this elegant, lucidly argued account, Teresa Brennan argues that the evidence already exists that globalisation has for years been harming not just the poor of the third world but also its alleged beneficiaries in the affluent west. She shows how the speeding-up of contemporary capitalism, in which space is substituted for time, means that neither then environment nor the people who live in it are given the opportunity to regenerate and how this leads directly to pollution-induced, immune-deficient and stress-related disease. In a final chapter she suggests some alternative ways forward through a return to regionally based production and an emphasis on local economies.

In this elegant, lucidly argued account, Teresa Brennan argues that the evidence already exists that globalization has for years been harming not just the poor of the third world but also its alleged beneficiaries in the affluent west.

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The issue of globalization-its promises, and more often, its shortcomings-commands worldwide attention. Recent events illuminate the dark side of globalization and underscore the urgent need to redesign its basic principles. The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 are one in a series of crisis that have shaken the foundations of the global order. The rise of strong anti-globalization movements around the world, the deteriorating global economy, including America's own economic turbulence, and an ever-growing distrust of powerful multinational corporations in the face of catastrophic mismanagement, symbolized by Enron and WorldCom, dramatize the failure of globalization. For a safe and economically secure future, Charles Derber argues in People Before Profit we must de-bunk the myths about our current form of corporate-led globalization and re-orient ourselves on a more democratic path. Popular misconceptions, what Derber terms the "globalization mystique," present globalization as new, inevitable, self-propelling, and win-win for rich and poor countries alike. By challenging each of these beliefs, Derber reveals a dynamic system that is constantly being invented and re-invented-and can be again. Globalization does not have to be a "race to the bottom" where the poverty gap grows ever wider and half the world lives on less than two dollars a day. In fact, Derber's hopeful and detailed vision of reform, including practical suggestions for every concerned citizen, shows that globalization has the potential to be an authentic agent of democracy, social justice, and economic stability. The challenges are great; the new globalization will require deep and difficult changes, as well as a new politics that shifts power away from the elite. But the seeds have already been planted and the new globalization is beginning to emerge. In a moment rich with opportunity, People Before Profit is an essential contribution to the most important debate of our times, written in clear, straight-forward prose for everyone seeking a better world.

Examines how the globalization debate will be radically changed by recent conflicts and economic turbulence, challenging readers to reconsider the rules of globalization in order to enable its potential as an agent of democracy.

This is an important book. We are entering a new era. Mainstream politics has become decadent. We need to think afresh. This book helps that complicated process. The Rt Hon Clare Short MP This book explores globalisation and the war on terror in a world that is becoming increasingly and significantly polarised and in which dialogue is undermined. The authors contend that citizenship does not obey a static definition, and that its meaning is located in changing economic, social and political contexts. Equally, civil, political and social rights are continually being politically defined. The war on terror has, the book argues, influenced issues of civil liberties and prioritised the need for security over and above the protection of human rights: it has redefined the meaning of the rule of law. This wide-ranging collection of original papers explores the link between globalisation, citizenship and the war on terror. Drawing on principles and ideas from their individual areas of expertise, the contributors illustrate how the processes of globalisation and the war on terror are shaping and defining citizenship both globally and within nation states. They go on to examine the nature of globalisation and the war on terror via theoretical frameworks, analysis of current issues and by reflecting on existing literature and past events. Seeking to connect the war on terror with issues of racism, resisitance, global poverty and forms of organised violence and social control, this book will provide a stimulating, thought-provoking read for scholars of a wider range of research fields including international business, politics, criminology, sociology and development studies.

In The Petroleum Triangle, Steve A. Yetiv tells the interconnected story of oil, globalization, and terrorism. Yetiv asks how Al-Qaeda, a small band of terrorists, became such a real and perceived threat to American and global security, a threat viewed as profound enough to motivate the strongest power in world history to undertake extraordinary actions, including two very costly wars. Yetiv argues that Middle East oil and globalization have combined to augment the real and perceived threat of transnational terrorism. Globalization has allowed terrorists to do things that otherwise would be more difficult and costly: exploit technology, generate fear beyond their capabilities, target vulnerable economic and political nodes, and capitalize on socio-economic dislocation. Meanwhile, Middle East oil has fueled terrorism by helping to bolster oil-rich regimes that terrorists hate, to fund the terrorist infrastructure, and to generate anti-American and anti-Western sentiments about American support for oil-rich regimes and perceived Western designs on Middle East oil. Together, Middle East oil and globalization have combined in various ways to help create Al-Qaeda's real and perceived threat, and that of its affiliates and offshoots. The combined effect has shaped important contours of the Petroleum Triangle and of world affairs. A sweeping analysis of contemporary world politics and American foreign and military policy, The Petroleum Triangle convincingly argues that it is critical to understand the connections among oil, globalization, and terrorism if we seek to comprehend modern global politics. What happens within the Petroleum Triangle will help determine if the death of Osama bin Laden will ultimately cripple Al-Qaeda and its affiliates or be yet another milestone in an ongoing age of terrorism.

This clearly written and accessible work presents a philosopher's response to the series of events known as "9/11" and the global culture in the United States -and global society-that followed. It provides a comprehensive analysis of the emerging post-9/11 culture, situating it in a broad context that includes politics, religious discourse, economic theory, and philosophical orientation. Before and After 9/11 reconstructs the events that led to and departed from the attacks on September 11, 2001. It criticizes the attempts to explain 9/11 by George W. Bush, his administration's neo-conservatives, Samuel Huntington, and Bernard Lewis. It also pays particular attention to the importance of the economic dimension in the emergence of conflicts in an age of globalization. The aim is to provide a philosophical overview of 9/11, understood as a series of connected events within an ongoing historical context. This unique work will appeal to anyone seeking to understand the current world, including the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In this book, Dennis Smith argues that we need to look afresh at globalization. So far analysts have seen globalization in terms of three logics. Yet these approaches ignore important historical and human aspects of globalization.