Opposing the System - Hardcover

Charles A. Reich

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0316909408 ISBN 13: 9780316909402

Publisher: Little Brown & Co, 1996

Synopsis

On the 25th anniversary of the publication of his mega-best seller The Greening of America (250,000 sold in hardcover and more than 2 million in paperback), Charles Reich offers a bold new appraisal of why America has lost its way and how it can rededicate itself to the pursuit of true prosperity for all its citizens.

About this title

From Booklist:

It's been 25 years since Reich ignited national discourse with his The Greening of America, and we're glad he's back. Believing that identifying a problem is the first step toward solving it, Reich presents a frank and lucid explanation for our pervasive sense of social insecurity. The source of our ills is what he calls the "economic government," which dominates over "public government" and rides roughshod over the needs and beliefs of most citizens. This is the unacknowledged "System" responsible for the corporate raiding of America and the entrenchment of a managerial elite whose only motive is profit for the few. As Reich diligently uncovers the roots of such tragedies as the devaluation of labor, the struggles of the "working poor" and the homeless, the escalation of violence, and the undermining of genuine democracy, he encourages us to ask, insistently, why there isn't enough money for schools, libraries, health care, and the arts. Why has there been a steady impoverishment of society while the wealth and influence of corporations have skyrocketed? Reich's cogent and compelling objections to the "tyranny of economics" are certain to strike a deep chord with readers who reject the brutality of business as usual. Donna Seaman

From Publishers Weekly:

Addressing practical questions of economics and politics raised in his 1970 youth-consciousness bestseller, The Greening of America, Reich here critiques "the System"-the nexus of governmental, corporate and media power that, he argues, nullifies democracy and dominates our lives. Our societal goal of profit cannot serve human needs, he stresses; nor does a focus on economic growth consider costs like urban decay and family breakup. A visiting law professor at Yale, Reich argues that the Bill of Rights, should be applied in the workplace, where it is regularly violated, and that the war against crime also violates the Constitution. He trenchantly suggests a "new map of reality" to recognize the costs imposed by our current "economic tyranny" but proposes, quixotically, a program that includes constitutional guarantees of economic rights and a rejiggering of the economy to focus on human needs. We need a new consciousness, Reich finally urges, but his ethereal book says nothing about the current disarray on the multicultural left or the international trend away from statist government.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Little Brown & Co
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0316909408
• ISBN 13: 9780316909402
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 240