Progress or collapse : the crises of market greed / Roberto De Vogli.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

De Vogli, Roberto, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Capitalism--Social aspects.

Capitalism.

Free enterprise--Social aspects.

Free enterprise.

Financial crises.

Sustainable development.

Social responsibility of business.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (289 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

London ; New York : Routledge, 2013.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Human progress is heading toward collapse. There are converging ecological crises looming on the horizon: climate change, peak oil, water shortages, fish depletion and food scarcities. The world is on a collision course against the limits of the ecosystem. Modern societies are consuming, polluting and growing as if there is no tomorrow. Indeed, there may not be one. In Progress or Collapse, Roberto De Vogli guides us through the multiple converging global crises of economic progress. He explores the connections between the environmental crisis and the psychological, social, cultural, political and economic emergencies affecting modern societies. It is not a coincidence, the author argues, that global ecological destruction is occurring in tandem with other crises: rising mental disorders, mindless consumerism, rampant conformism, status competition, civic disengagement, startling social inequalities, global financial instability, and widespread political impasse. In this hard-hitting analysis, Roberto De Vogli identifies the root cause of all these symptoms of societal breakdown: neoliberalism, defined as market greed. He argues that in recent decades, modern societies have been dominated by a suicidal economic doctrine based on two articles of faith: the greed creed and the market God. The greed creed states that people are nothing but selfish profiteers in a perpetual search for status and wealth. The market God is the belief that all societal and human affairs are best regulated as market exchanges. What is to be done? Can we stop progress toward collapse? Given the current distribution of power and wealth, and the state of psychological and political inertia in which we are trapped, our chances of redefining progress around alternative values and embracing a new philosophy of life are slim. Yet, the history of human emancipation has often

been shaped by giant leaps forward. In the past, civic struggles have overcome "the limits of the possible". Whether this will happen again in the future is the central question of our time. This book will be of interest to researchers and students of ecology, psychology, public health, epidemiology, human development, political philosophy, economics, sociology and politics.

Contents:

A turning point or a point of no return?

The growth delusions

United we spend

Chains of a free world

Market mediocracies

The market greed doctrine

Divided we stand

Out of control

State of political inertia

Progress or collapse.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on metadata supplied by the publisher and other sources.

ISBN:

1-135-10291-0

1-135-10292-9

0-203-07331-2

1-283-92006-9

9780203073315

OCLC:

823390015