Book Description
"We fail to mandate economic sanity," writes Garrett Hardin, "because our brains are addled by...compassion." With such startling assertions, Hardin has cut a swathe through the field of ecology for decades, winning a reputation as a fearless and original thinker. A prominent biologist, ecological philosopher, and keen student of human population control, Hardin now offers the finest summation of his work to date, with an eloquent argument for accepting the limits of the earth's resources--and the hard choices we must make to live within them. In Living Within Limits, Hardin focuses on the neglected problem of overpopulation, making a forceful case for dramatically changing the way we live in and manage our world. Our world itself, he writes, is in the dilemma of the lifeboat: it can only hold a certain number of people before it sinks--not everyone can be saved. The old idea of progress and limitless growth misses the point that the earth (and each part of it) has a limited carrying capacity; sentimentality should not cloud our ability to take necessary steps to limit population. But Hardin refutes the notion that goodwill and voluntary restraints will be enough. Instead, nations where population is growing must suffer the consequences alone. Too often, he writes, we operate on the faulty principle of shared costs matched with private profits. In Hardin's famous essay, "The Tragedy of the Commons," he showed how a village common pasture suffers from overgrazing because each villager puts as many cattle on it as possible--since the costs of grazing are shared by everyone, but the profits go to the individual. The metaphor applies to global ecology, he argues, making a powerful case for closed borders and an end to immigration from poor nations to rich ones. "The production of human beings is the result of very localized human actions; corrective action must be local....Globalizing the 'population problem' would only ensure that it would never be solved." Hardin does not shrink from the startling implications of his argument, as he criticizes the shipment of food to overpopulated regions and asserts that coercion in population control is inevitable. But he also proposes a free flow of information across boundaries, to allow each state to help itself. "The time-honored practice of pollute and move on is no longer acceptable," Hardin tells us. We now fill the globe, and we have no where else to go. In this powerful book, one of our leading ecological philosophers points out the hard choices we must make--and the solutions we have been afraid to consider.
Customer Reviews:
Spaceship economics and other interesting concepts........2007-07-02
The problem of population is one of regulating human behavior. He explains several concepts:
1- Cowboy vs spaceship economics.
2- The Malthus demostat.
3- Exponential growth at a small rate and the carrying capacity of Planet Earth
4- Our world is finite
5- There will never be a perpetual motion machine
A great thinker on ecology and human population.
A marvellous book distinguished by Hardin's superb clarity of thought.......2007-06-20
1st edition, reissued (1995), 311 pages
This is another of the twenty books that Charlie Munger recommends in the 2nd edition of Poor Charlie's Almanack (which I cannot recommend more highly). When a very widely read and highly effective thinker like Munger gets to eighty years old and recommends a list of just twenty books, I think one would be justified in expecting all of them to be pretty good.
Even so, as I make my way through his list I find myself pleasantly surprised at just how good some of them are. The clarity of thought Hardin demonstrates in this book is simply superb.
There is an important difference comparing this book to most others. Because so much of his subject matter (the subtitle is: `Ecology, Economics and Population Taboos') is smeared over by taboo and emotion, Hardin appears to have decided that in order to deal with this problem he also needs to demonstrate how to think properly.
Thus it is really two books in one: a manual on how to think effectively and a treatise on his chosen subject. For example, he hammers home the importance of default positions to provide the foundation for critical judgement (in economics: there's no such thing as a free lunch; in psychology: reward determines behaviour; in ecology: and then what?).
I am left with a feeling of gratitude towards both Munger and Hardin - without either of whom I would not have read this marvellous book.
With this book you can have a whole education career .......2006-10-29
I must first say I have not finished reading the book. Part of the reason its that I always start again while Im half way through.
This books educates you, in the highest sense of the word, and I am not talking about having to make your mind up about any stand in population control that may be in direct confrontation with your religious beliefs. This book is not about that.
It educates because it teaches you logical thinking, fallacies, numerative, narrative and ecological thinking, history of economic thought, of philosophy of progress. All in chunk-bit sizes, so I would say that even with a university degree, this book has made re-think, re-explore and adequate my thought to a multiple of tools I have not used in a long time.
Its most profound method, which I have not seen in de Bono and the like, is how to address critical issues by:
- Chosing the right words (Rhethoric has been the most overused tool)
- Chosing the right numbers (Please read What the Numbers Tell)
- Chosing the right system of growth (if you decide to do something, see the consequences please!!!)
By reading history, you can see all type of blunders that have resulted form not using in balance the following tools. History? take a look around you, we are not better of than our forefathers eventhough now we can have this tools to guide us.
Since this is a book that teaches how to think, I can clearly see now how it can be so underrated and not be required reading at all levels. Maybe, because the theme of population is brought on, and due to the taboos we have about it, as well as our hopes, etc. this can overcloud the relevance as an educational tool.
Demostat vs. Thermostat and Other Numerate, and Ecology Insights.......2006-07-20
Though the main emphasis is on the population sustaining aspects of our environment and planet, one would miss other economical, numerate, and ecological insights that the sharp mind of Garrett Hardin provides with all of his writing. As a follow-up (in my mind) to Filters of Folly, Hardin again demonstrates his sharp insights on a multitude of endeavors that just don't relate to population. Some anecdotes include economic discussions on scale factors, human nature of foxes and hedgehogs, compound interests as the eighth wonder, Islamic thoughts on usury, law of diminishing returns, one can never merly do one thing, and etc..
Whether you consider yourself an Economist, Ecologist, Environmentalist, or just your average Autodidact, one can can surely benefit from Hardin's thoughts.
Garrett Hardin and the Freedom of Limits.......2005-08-22
This book is essential reading. As someone lucky enough to have called Garrett Hardin my friend, I was once with him at one of his book signings in Santa Barbara, California. As two rather prosperous looking young women rushed by his display table, one said to the other: "`Limits'--I don't like it!" After which Hardin turned to me with a twinkle in his eye and said, "You see, she just summarized my whole problem." But one of the things that Professor Hardin is still teaching us, through his books and his students, is that once we accept the fact that the world has real ecological limits--for example, we stop assuming that we can cram a quarter-billion people into America, or that affordable substitutes for finite resources like oil and topsoil will be generated magically by the marketplace--the quality of our lives will actually improve. It is something like the little boy who has many scattered ambitions, from cowboy to Superman, upon reaching maturity being able to focus in on the adventure of passionately pursuing life's real possibilities. In his own life Hardin was anything but grim. Garrett Hardin just wanted to help our society grow up and, as said in Corinthians, put away childish things.
Average customer rating:
|
Iran's Diverse Peoples: A Reference Sourcebook (Ethnic Diversity Within Nations)
Massoume Price
Manufacturer: ABC-CLIO
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Iran
| Middle East
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Cultural
| Anthropology
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Human Geography
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Sociology
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Ethnic Studies
| Special Groups
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
All Titles
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Hidden Iran: Paradox and Power in the Islamic Republic
ASIN: 1576079937
Release Date: 2005-07-26 |
Average customer rating:
|
Minorities within Minorities: Equality, Rights and Diversity
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Civil Rights & Liberties
| Current Events
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Politics
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
History & Theory
| Politics
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
U.S.
| Politics
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Minority Studies
| Special Groups
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Political Science
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Human Rights
| Constitutional Law
| Law
| Subjects
| Books
All Titles
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Multicultural Jurisdictions: Cultural Differences and Women's Rights (Contemporary Political Theory)
ASIN: 0521603943 |
Book Description
Groups around the world are increasingly successful in maintaining or winning autonomy. However, what happens to individuals within the groups who find that their group discriminates against them? This volume brings together sixteen distinguished scholars who examine the balance between group autonomy and individual rights in relation to conflicts involving gender, religion, culture, and indigenous rights in the national and international sphere.
Book Description
Alien Chic sets out to provide a cultural history of the alien since the 1950s, asking why our attitudes to aliens have changed from fear to affection, and what this can tell us about how we now see ourselves and others.
The author begins by exploring our relationship with the concept of aliens, primarily through films, including Invaders from Mars, Mars Attacks and Mission to Mars. He then progresses to ideas of humanism and what makes us human, taking in the works of thinkers such as Descartes, Barthes, Freud, and Derrida.
The book then considers the concept of posthumanism in an age in which the lines between what is human and what is non-human are increasingly blurred by advances in science and technology, for example cloning and genetic engineering, and the development of AI and cyborgs. This leads to the question of whether our embracing of all things 'alien' stems from a need to reaffirm ourselves as "human."
Written in a clear and engaging style, Alien Chic is an original and thought-provoking contribution to the study of posthumanism.
Customer Reviews:
Cultural Crit at its best.......2005-02-02
Alien Chic, as a title, is rather `chic' itself, posthumanism and aliens being rather hot topics in the hipster academic (I know, I know, total paradox) circles. In fact, `trashy' pop-culture topics in general, examined through the lens of an often hyper-academic theory, seem to be more prevalent than more traditional academic work. It is far too easy to find hundreds of academic papers on Buffy the Vampire Slayer or X-files, and whatever those shows' merits may be, the excess of critical attention surely hearkens an almost morbid interest in pop artifacts by cultural critics who have finally been given free reign to write about whatever they want. Anyone who thinks that, to borrow a typically overwrought statement of Terry Eagleton's, `Jane Austen is better than Jeffery Archer,' is accused of all sorts of hideous crimes. Good old Marxist that he is, Terry roundly condemns this belief, and, obnoxiously reductive and nostalgic as he may be, Eagleton does have some good points. It does get tiresome reading sundry Lacanian film analyses of beer commercials and episodes of Angel. Even though said essays are not representative of cultural criticism as a discipline, they are hardly in short supply, and enough of them and one almost starts wishing for good old Beowulf and some high-handed cultural imperialism. Almost. In this reviewer's humble opinion, the saving grace of cultural theory is books like this one.
Badmington does indeed examine a great deal of pop-culture, along with Descartes, a wonderful passage from Baudelaire on the joys and travails of hashish use, choice examinations of Althusser, and some of the most wonderfully simple and applicable summaries and uses of Derrida I have ever read. Despite the `chic' title (actually a very insightful reference to Tom Wolfe's concept of `Radical Chic') the difference between this book and a lot of cultural criticism that has flourished recently is that it is not afraid to tackle large issues. It deals with what pop culture means and what that means for us. By framing the discussion around repeated reformulations of Descartes' famous `cogito ergo sum' Badmington makes a powerful case for the relevance of posthumanism. He shows the weaknesses of traditional humanism and its current manifestations in reflexive self-definition: I am not alien therefore I am. Using the vital concept of difference (and differance) he illustrates the very real dangers of reflexive self definition, bringing the argument from the sphere of pop-culture to the sphere of what it means to be human, or posthuman. Relevant, wittily written and thoroughly engaging, this is one of the most thought provoking books of cultural criticism I have read.
Also, it's pretty funny, and that's always a good thing.
Average customer rating:
|
History And...: Histories Within the Human Sciences
Manufacturer: University of Virginia Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Reference
| Historical Study
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Sociology
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Culture
| Sociology
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 081391499X |
Average customer rating:
|
The Former Soviet Union's Diverse Peoples: A Reference Sourcebook (Ethnic Diversity Within Nations)
James Minahan
Manufacturer: ABC-CLIO
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Asia
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Japan
| Asia
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Russia
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| England
| Europe
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Cultural
| Anthropology
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Human Geography
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Ethnic Studies
| Special Groups
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 157607823X
Release Date: 2004-07-02 |
Average customer rating:
|
Canada's Diverse Peoples: A Reference Sourcebook (Ethnic Diversity Within Nations)
John Bumsted
Manufacturer: ABC-CLIO
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| 19th Century
| United States
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| 20th Century
| United States
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Colonial Period
| United States
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Canada
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Cultural
| Anthropology
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Human Geography
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Sociology
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Ethnic Studies
| Special Groups
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1576076725
Release Date: 2003-11-17 |
Average customer rating:
- A decent book on a great subject
|
The "Nations Within": Aboriginal-State Relations in Canada, the United States, and New Zealand
Augie Fleras , and
Jean Leonard Elliott
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Collections, Catalogues & Exhibitions
| Photography
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Photography
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| How-to
| Photography
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
United States
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
| 19th Century
| 20th Century
| 21st Century
| African Americans
| Civil War
| Colonial Period
| General
| Revolution & Founding
| State & Local
General
| Canada
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
First Nations
| Canada
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
New Zealand
| Australia & Oceania
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| World
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Social History
| Historical Study
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Race Relations
| Sociology
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Sociology
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Political Science
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Federal Government
| Levels of Government
| Political Science
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Social Policy
| Government
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Politics
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Human Rights
| Constitutional Law
| Law
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0195407547 |
Book Description
This is a study of the history and current state of aboriginal politics in Canada drawing comparisons with New Zealand and the United States. By exploring similar terrains of the evolving relationship of the peoples with the state, common patterns are revealed. The work includes analysis of
the impact of social structures and societal constraints as they define the parameters and restrict the options of the participants in the scripting of this political drama.
Customer Reviews:
A decent book on a great subject.......2002-04-11
I read this book for a Federal Indian Law course I took. It's funny that the indigenous peoples of the US, Canada, and New Zealand are sooooo different,yet so similar. This book is one of the rare works which looks at their situations from a comparative perspective. The book is small and the authors make it seem like they have little source material. However, the book illustrates how rampant issues of genocide, incarceration, and alcoholism are. I wish there were more texts out there exploring these topics and discussing these populations.
Average customer rating:
|
Nigeria's Diverse Peoples: A Reference Sourcebook (Ethnic Diversity Within Nations.)
April Gordon , and
Elliott Barkan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
| Baby-3
| Ages 4-8
| Ages 9-12
| Animals
| Arts & Music
| Books on Cassette
| Books on CD
| Authors & Illustrators, A-Z
| Computers
| Educational
| History & Historical Fiction
| Issues
| Literature
| Obsessions
| People & Places
| Popular Characters
| Reference & Nonfiction
| Religions
| Science, Nature & How It Works
| Series
| Sports & Activities
| Audiobooks
Nigeria
| Africa
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Reference
| Teens
| Subjects
| Books
History
| Children
| Bargain Books
| Stores
| Books
General
| Reference
| Bargain Books
| Stores
| Books
Teens
| Bargain Books
| Stores
| Books
ASIN: B000HWZ1P0 |
Average customer rating:
- A 'must' for any with more than a passing interest in the country
|
South Africa's Diverse Peoples: A Reference Sourcebook (Ethnic Diversity Within Nations)
Sally Frankental , and
Owen Sichone
Manufacturer: ABC-CLIO
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Africa
| History
| Subjects
| Books
South Africa
| Africa
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| World
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Human Geography
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Sociology
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Ethnic Studies
| Special Groups
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
All Titles
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
ASIN: 1576076741
Release Date: 2005-12-13 |
Customer Reviews:
A 'must' for any with more than a passing interest in the country.......2006-05-23
Any collection strong in African history and ethnicity will want to make SOUTH AFRICA'S DIVERSE PEOPLES: A REFERENCE SOURCEBOOK a primary acquisition. It will appeal to both high school and college-level holdings with its history, which moves from pre-segregation to post-segregation and which considers the evolving, changing roles of many different peoples and cultures under the South African umbrella. From the hardening of ethnic divisions within the country to apartheid's policies and rules, SOUTH AFRICA'S DIVERSE PEOPLES is a 'must' for any with more than a passing interest in the country.
Diane C. Donovan, Editor
California Bookwatch
Book Description
This sweeping history explores the growing Latino presence in the United States over the past two hundred years. It also debunks common myths about Silicon Valley, one of the world's most influential but least-understood places. Far more than any label of the moment, the devil of racism has long been Silicon Valley's defining force, and Stephen Pitti argues that ethnic Mexicans--rather than computer programmers--should take center stage in any contemporary discussion of the "new West."
Pitti weaves together the experiences of disparate residents--early Spanish-Mexican settlers, Gold Rush miners, farmworkers transplanted from Texas, Chicano movement activists, and late-twentieth-century musicians--to offer a broad reevaluation of the American West. Based on dozens of oral histories as well as unprecedented archival research, The Devil in Silicon Valley shows how San José, Santa Clara, and other northern California locales played a critical role in the ongoing development of Latino politics.
This is a transnational history. In addition to considering the past efforts of immigrant and U.S.-born miners, fruit cannery workers, and janitors at high-tech firms--many of whom retained strong ties to Mexico--Pitti describes the work of such well-known Valley residents as César Chavez. He also chronicles the violent opposition ethnic Mexicans have faced in Santa Clara Valley. In the process, he reinterprets not only California history but the Latino political tradition and the story of American labor.
This book follows California race relations from the Franciscan missions to the Gold Rush, from the New Almaden mine standoff to the Apple janitorial strike. As the first sustained account of Northern California's Mexican American history, it challenges conventional thinking and tells a fascinating story. Bringing the past to bear on the present, The Devil in Silicon Valley is counter-history at its best.
Customer Reviews:
By the sweat of their brow, the wealth of CA was built..........2003-02-10
This book is an incredible contribution to understanding California and the West. The author has a good eye for detail, and he tells a vivid story. Most important, he offers incisive analysis of race, labor and community in the Silicon Valley. The book is also enjoyable to read because the author has a very nice writing style, and he knows how to use his subjects' own insights to prove his arguments convincingly. This book should give activists, public officials, and residents a lot to grapple with. Highest possible recommendation!
thoroughly researched and readable.......2003-01-25
As part of my doctoral research into the history of California, I've read several books on the history of Santa Clara County. Most emphasize the "pioneer" (read: white colonization) days, and the rest the technical magnificence of the Valley of Silicon Delight.
This new important work delineates the history of ethnic Mexicans in the county, particularly its East Side. From the poisonous mines of Almaden to the poisonous laboratories of the West Side, it has been ethnically based labor for low pay that has allowed the county to develop in all its prolific economic richness. The author's book provides an overview of these dynamics through research, figures, facts, and eyewitness accounts.
The "devil" mentioned in the title has to do with racism, and the book goes beyond the usual sociological and psychological explanations of racism to emphasize its classist underpinnings in a supposedly classless society. Also emphasized are the creative responses in opposition to it as ethnic Mexicans have made their voices heard and refused to be subjugated without meaningful forms of culturally enhancing assertiveness. Highly recommended.
Best Book on the History of Latinos.......2003-01-02
This is quite a book: a smart, easy to read, and important study of Latinos in California from the early 19th century to the present. Specialists and non-specialists alike will find here an engaging narrative guided by impressive (even stunning) historical research. Pitti provides the first accurate and sensitive portrait of the San Jose area's development, and he does so while showing how Northern California developed in relation to Mexico and to the wider history of "race" in the United States. Moreover, THE DEVIL IN SILICON VALLEY explains the many ways in which Mexicans and Mexican Americans responded to discriminatory treatment over time. The portrait of Latinos and their politics given here will be critical reading for anyone who seeks to understand Mexican Americans, the politics of immigration, and many other aspects of the multicultural United States in the years to come. Not to be missed!
About time.......2002-12-18
Every Mexican American, Mexican immigrant, and Latino should read this book. Pitti lifts the lid on the Silicon Valley myth and shows that underneath is just old-time exploitation and injustice, and it's been going on for over a century. And thankfully, Pitti's a scholar who isn't afraid to call for action. My only complaint: too hard to read because the type was so small.
Books:
- Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela
- More Than Money: True Stories of People Who Learned Life's Ultimate Lesson
- National Geographic Almanac of American History (National Geographic)
- National Geographic Atlas Of World History (Atlas)
- Notes from the Hyena's Belly: An Ethiopian Boyhood
- On The Black Liberation Army
- Open Me Carefully: Emily Dickinson's Intimate Letters to Susan Huntington Dickinson
- Plutarch: Lives of Noble Grecians and Romans (Modern Library Series, Vol. 1)
- Posthistoire: Has History Come to an End?
- Raging Bull: My Story
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Selling Today: Creating Customer Value, Ninth Edition
- History: Fiction or Science
- Brimfield : A Novel
- Giants in Their Tall Black Hats: Essays on the Iron Brigade
- Encyclopedia Prehistorica: Sharks and Other Sea Monsters
- Introduction to Electrodynamics
- Follow the Drinking Gourd
- How to Sell Apartment Buildings: The Big Money in Real Estate
- Coming Alive from Nine to Five : The Career Search Handbook
- Business the Jack Welch Way: 10 Secrets of the World's Greatest Turnaround King
![A Matter of Degrees: What Temperature Reveals about the Past and Future of Our Species, Planet, and[continued] Universe](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/014200278X.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
A Matter of Degrees: What Temperature Reveals about the Past and Future of Our Species, Planet, and[continued] Universe
Deep Simplicity: Bringing Order to Chaos and Complexity
The Wealth and Poverty of Nations: Why Some Are So Rich and Some So Poor
Andrew Carnegie
Models of My Life (Sloan Foundation Science Series)
