The Real Wealth of Nations: Creating A Caring Economics - Hardcover

Eisler, Riane

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1576753883 ISBN 13: 9781576753880

Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2007

Synopsis

Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations provided the first, most influential and lasting explanation of the workings of modern economics. But with his focus on "the market" as the best mechanism for producing and distributing the necessities of life, Smith's concepts only told part of the story, leading to flawed economic models that devalue activities that fall outside of the market's parameters of buying and selling. The real wealth of nations, Riane Eisler argues, is not merely financial, but includes the contributions of people and our natural environment. Here, Eisler goes beyond the market to reexamine economics from a larger perspective--and shows that we must give visibility and value to the socially and economically essential work of caring for people and the planet if we are to meet the enormous challenges we are facing.

Eisler proposes a new "caring economics" that takes into account the full spectrum of economic activities--from the life--sustaining activities of the household, to the life-enriching activities of caregivers and communities, to the life-supporting processes of nature. She shows how our values are distorted by the economic double standard that devalues anything stereotypically associated with women and femininity; reveals how current economic models are based on a deep-seated culture of domination; and shows how human needs would be better served by economic models based on caring. Most importantly, she provides practical proposals for new economic inventions--new measures, policies, rules, and practices--to bring about a caring economics that fulfills human needs.

Like her classic The Chalice and the Blade, The Real Wealth of Nations is a bold and insightful look at how to create a society in which each of us can achieve the full measure of our humanity.

About this title

From the Publisher:

ADVANCE PRAISE FOR THE REAL WEALTH OF NATIONS

"The Real Wealth of Nations gives us a template for the better world that we have been so urgently seeking. As practical as it is hopeful, this brilliant book shows how we can build economic systems that meet both our material and spiritual needs. It illuminates the way to a bold and exciting new future."
--Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Laureate

"The Real Wealth of Nations is a call to action. It is not only politicians, businesses and financial institutions that must change, but rather each one of us must play a role in developing a more caring society. This book is an important tool that can help us make that happen."
--Jane Goodall, Ph.D., DBE, Founder, the Jane Goodall Institute, UN Messenger of Peace

"The Real Wealth of Nations is a prescription for an economic system that is both equitable and sustainable. This book should be read and used by everyone who wants a better world!"
--Deepak Chopra, author of Life After Death

"In The Real Wealth of Nations, Riane Eisler, long a voice of sanity and clarity in an increasingly confusing world, does what has been desperately needed for a long time: bring back a human-and nature-centric perspective to economics to show how ends and means can be integrated."
--Peter Senge, author of The Fifth Discipline

"Riane Eisler shows us how to value economically what is valuable humanly--and what could be more revolutionary than that? To imagine money not as the root of all evil, but the measure of all good, read The Real Wealth of Nations."
--Gloria Steinem

"In this brilliant new look at economic systems and how they interact with culture, Riane Eisler has created what is sure to be a classic and--hopefully--world-changing book."
--Thom Hartmann, author of Screwed and The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight

"This book should be mandatory reading for every CEO, every economist, every government official, every student, and every citizen of our world."
-- Jeffrey Hollender, President, Seventh Generation, Inc.

"In The Real Wealth of Nations, Riane Eisler lays out a comprehensive and compelling argument for why we must change national and global priorities about what work, and which workers, we value--including worldwide attitudes towards caring for our children."
--Marian Wright Edelman, President, Children's Defense Fund

"An essential tool for government leaders, politicians, economists, and everyone looking for ways to halt environmental destruction, eradicate poverty, stabilize population, and build a better future, The Real Wealth of Nations shows us how to construct a sustainable new economy--and a good quality of life for our children and generations to come."
-- The Honorable Vigdis Finnbogadóttir, President of Iceland 1980-1996

"The Real Wealth of Nations is a call for nothing less than a ground shift in consciousness. I urge you to read this profound and important book."
--Eve Ensler, author of The Vagina Monologues

"From third world poverty to climate change, it has become increasingly clear that traditional economic thinking is not only unable to solve today's myriad of problems; it's responsible for many of them. Riane Eisler's brilliant new book expands the scope and practice of economics beyond capitalism and socialism to a new economics in which equity, justice, and environmental sanity prevail. Must reading!"
-- Morris Dees, Co-founder, Southern Poverty Law Center

"This is a wonderful, hopeful, book not about where we have been economically, but about the potential for economics to reflect what we truly value, quality of life, and quality of the environment."
-- Daniel Kammen, Co-Director, Berkeley Institute of the Environment, Founding Director, Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory, University of California

"Why has conventional economics been so slow to offer compelling, useful responses to our most threatening challenges, such as environmental degradation or raging inequalities? Riane Eisler answers this question, and in doing so, reinvents the dismal science, infusing it with the essential ingredients it needs to get us out the terribly narrow box in which we've been stuck."
-- Jared Bernstein, Economic Policy Institute, author, All Together Now: Common Sense for a Fair Economy

"Visionary social critic Riane Eisler offers readers challenging new ways to think about economics, caring, and ending domination in The Wealth of Nations. Breaking new ground, with keen insight and brilliance she charts the journey to freedom and well-being."
-- bell hooks, author, All About Love

"Listen to Riane Eisler! No one is better at conveying the urgent message that we must abandon our economic double standard, and start valuing the essential work of caring for and investing in ourselves and our environment."
-- Ann Crittenden, author, The Price of Motherhood

"When there's a Nobel Prize in Caring, Riane Eisler deserves to be the first recipient. With the skill of a worldclass therapist, she puts the dismal science of economics on the couch, pierces through its double-speak and contradictions, and suggests practical ways for how it can become a powerful tool for humanizing. There can be no better act of caring than giving this book to every politician, civil servant, CEO, professor, and decisionmaker in your life."
-- Michael Shuman, author, The Small-Mart Revolution

About the Author:

Riane Eisler is president of the Center for Partnership Studies and author of The Chalice and the Blade, Sacred Pleasure, Tomorrow’s Children, and The Power of Partnership. Dr. Eisler is a pioneer in the study of complex systems and the recipient of many honors, including the Humanist Pioneer Award and membership in the World Commission on Global Consciousness and Spirituality.

About this edition

• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 1576753883
• ISBN 13: 9781576753880
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 336