Various strains of heterodox economics have sought, and largely failed, to dismount orthodoxy from its dominant position. This book critiques the criticizers, explaining why heterodox economics challenges have faltered, and then presents a coherent alternative paradigm of its own. This simultaneously exposes the vacuousness of neoclassical economics, the limitations of heterodox critique and the subverting of Karl Marx’s revolutionary economic thought by his own disciples. The book draws in particular on two key intellectual traditions in making its arguments: critical realism and Marxism. From the refounding of critical realist philosophy of science in the hands of Roy Bhaskar, emphasis is placed upon the position that the ontological nature of the object of study determines the form of its possible science. However, in their theoretical constructions, neither orthodox economics nor heterodox economics problematizes the unique ontology of capitalism to the detriment of knowledge about the social world. The book maintains that a century of misthinking over Marx’s corpus has resulted in a missed opportunity to construct a paradigmatic alternative to orthodox economics. Drawing upon the tradition of the Japanese Uno approach to Marxism, and supported by Bhaskar’s development of critical realism as underlaborer for science, the book defends Marx’s writing in his monumental Capital as founding an economic science adequate to its ontological object of study. It then elaborates upon how Marxian economic theory exposes the hidden scourges of capitalism and what is required to unleash the potential of this theory for comprehensive analysis of capitalist vicissitudes, the study of economic life in precapitalist societies and the design of a desperately needed postcapitalist social order. Broadening its appeal as it sets out to reclaim Marx’s revolutionary legacy, this original volume critically traverses writings in mainstream and heterodox economics, cutting edge philosophy of science and Marxian political economy and introduces readers to a reconstruction of Marx’s Capital engineered in Japan. This provocative book is essential reading for everyone interested in heterodox economics, critical realism, Marxian economics and critiques of capitalism.
Exit from Globalization moves from theory to practice: from questions of where incorrigible knowledge of substantive economic life derives and how that knowledge is put towards making a progressive, redistributive, eco-sustainable future of human flourishing. Westra discards at the outset views that the root of current economic ills is the old devil we know, capitalism. Rather, he maintains the neoliberal decades spawned a "Merchant of Venice" economic excrescence bent upon expropriation and rent seeking which will scrape all the flesh from the bones of humanity if not stopped dead in its tracks. En route to providing a viable design for the human future in line with transformatory demands of socialists and Greens, Westra exorcizes both Soviet demons and ghosts of neoliberal ideologues past which lent support to the position that there is no alternative to "the market". Exit from Globalization shows in a clear and compelling fashion that while debates over the possibility of another, potentially socialist, world swirl around this or that grand society-wide scheme, the fact is that creative future directed thinking has at its disposal several economic principles that transformatory actors may choose from and combine in various ways to remake human economic life. The book concludes with an examination of the various social constituencies currently supporting radical change and explores the narrowing pathways to bring change about.
Usury laid medieval society to waste. Western civilization was saved by the rise of capitalism, which tamed the activities of money lending, and endowed them with socially redeeming value, tethering finance to expanding production of material goods and increased social wealth. Now, as the 21st century begins, bloating tides of money with no possibility of ever being converted into real capital wash over the world. Finance again has turned to its dark side, using money to make money with no socially redeeming purpose. Such is the endgame of economies managed by capitalists without capitalism. As Marx foresaw, capitalist society, like all others, is destined to be outpaced by history as the conditions of its existence decompose and become a drag on the human future. Either we will succeed in bringing about new politico-economic structures—or civilization will collapse into barbarism, just as usury broke it down in the past.
This book offers the first systematic exposition and critique of the major approaches to periodizing capitalism, bringing to bear both deep rooted theoretical questions and meticulous empirical analysis to grapple with the seismic economic changes capitalism has experienced over the past 150 years. Westra asks why – despite the anarchic and crises tendencies captured in radical analyses – capitalism manages to reload in a structured stage that realizes a period of relatively stable accumulation. He further evaluates arguments over the economic forces bringing stages of capitalist development to a crashing end. Particular attention in the periodization literature is devoted to examining the economy of the post World War II golden age and what followed its unceremonious demise. The final chapters assess whether what is variously dubbed neoliberalism, globalization or financialization can be understood as a stage of capitalism or, rather, an era of capitalist disintegration and extinction.
Based upon distinguishing capitalism from other economic systems, as well as analysis of capitalist change across its stages of development, Richard Westra argues that the economic tendencies we refer to as globalization constitute a world historic transition away from capitalism. Westra forcefully rejects claims from both Right and Left sides of economic debate that globalization embodies the ultimate world diffusion of capitalism. He concludes that the choice facing humanity is no longer between capitalism and socialism but between socialism and global barbarism. The argument is meticulously interwoven through four key foci of political economy - The role of Marx’s Capital in producing knowledge of capitalism, The periodizing of capitalism and study of its historical models, The altering trajectories of production and finance under current globalization, The place of socialism in a progressive future. A central point of the book is that determinations over the capitalist substance of existing economies demand precise understanding of how in its basic operation capitalism manages to secure the economic reproducibility of human society in the first place. To make the case for the passing of capitalism from history the volume draws upon the novel Japanese Uno approach to Marxian political economy. From the pages of Political Economy and Globalization emerges a grim picture of our human future should current economic trends persist. It also offers a positive vision for socio-material betterment in redistributive, eco-sensitive socialist societies of tomorrow. This is a must read book for scholars, students, progressive policy makers and activists.
Westra explores a nuanced literature on post-capitalism which claims that instead of constituting the end of history or ending in its supplanting by socialism, capitalism has transmuted into something else. Foci of this literature ranges from questions of financial system and technological change through evidence of shifting class contours metastasizing a more predatory constellation. In exposing the dire consequences for humanity of capitalist unravelling, Westra remedies the lacunae of current writings which leave fundamental questions of what precisely capitalism is or was and the historical delimitations of capitalism unanswered. He not only critically analyzes the arguments over capitalisms passing under key rubrics of financialization, globalization, intangible assets and social class, but grounds determinations over the existence of capitalism in a novel synthetic definition of it drawn from Marx. While capitalism has always been an exploitative, asymmetric wealth distributive, alienating, class divisive, crises ridden society, Westra explains how current economic transmutations undermine what coherence capitalism had historically maintained. This book, written in a clear and compelling fashion, is a clarion call for social change. It will be of interest to academics and students across fields of economics, political economy, economic history, political science and sociology as well as to progressive policymakers and social activists.
Why, despite the existence of raft of potential international investment outlets, is a major share of global wealth and savings mpelled toward a United States (US) Wall Street centered casino ? Why has an increasingly gapping chasm crystallized between ever bloating global financial activities and the �real” world economy of production and trade? How is it that wealthy governments�injecting trillions of dollars into stumbling financial sectors across the globe is failing to create new decent jobs? The present volume clearly answers these questions and more as it connects the dots linking the 2008 meltdown and over a decade of dress rehearsals for it to a rigged global financial game that cemented US international dominance under conditions where the US simultaneously attained the status of world�s principal debtor economy. It traces out the complicity of Japan in the game beholden as it was to US anti-communist largesse for its meteoric post-war rise. It examines how China, the former communist Cold War nemesis, paradoxically became the next major underwriter of US debt and exporter of global deflation as is sets low wage rates for the world. The present volume clearly answers these questions and more as it connects the dots linking the 2008 meltdown and over a decade of dress rehearsals for it to a rigged global financial game that cemented US international dominance under conditions where the US simultaneously attained the status of world�s principal debtor economy. It traces out the complicity of Japan in the game beholden as it was to US anti-communist largesse for its meteoric post-war rise. It examines how China, the former communist Cold War nemesis, paradoxically became the next major underwriter of US debt and exporter of global deflation as is sets low wage rates for the world.
This volume brings together work by international scholars to provide a unique analysis of the past, present and possible future trajectory of Korea's political economy from a distinctly Marxist perspective. The volume differentiates the Marxian approach to the political economy of Korean development from the Keynesian, social democratic approach that currently dominates the critical literature. In doing so the volume provides a unique view of the development of the South Korean Economy.
In this collection authors from eight different countries, representing a wide variety of academic disciplines and theoretical perspectives, investigate the differing phases of capitalist development. They offer diverse and powerful analyses of the postwar boom, economic crises and globalization within this context.
Now is an opportune time to be writing about socialism. 2017 and 2018 are landmark years for socialism. 2018, of course, is the 200 year anniversary of the birth of Karl Marx, whose name is mostly associated with modern socialism. 2017 is the 100 year anniversary of the Soviet Revolution which brought into being the first socialist experiment in the world. Furthermore, 2017 is the 150 year anniversary of the publication of Volume One of Marxs monumental Capital. Finally, 2017 is the 100 year anniversary of the publication of the iconic short booklet, Imperialism, authored by leader of the Soviet revolution, V. I. Lenin. The procedure adopted for this book on socialism in the 21st century is as follows: Chapter One sets the stage for the book by looking at the way the notion of socialism has gained renewed respectability through calls for it to commence via mainstream political parties. Chapter Two considers questions of the sources for socialist ideas and follows how these were progressively shaped to animate revolutionary actors in putting socialist experiments into practice. Chapter Three reviews the record of the Soviet Unions socialist journey. It examines Soviet discontents and explanations for this movement; it then ends with a review of the initial theoretical response to Soviet failings. Chapter Four explores the transformations undergone by capitalism in the 20th and 21st century. The purpose of this is to show that the kind of capitalist economy socialist revolutionaries believed would be the antechamber for socialism now no longer exists.
Why, despite the existence of raft of potential international investment outlets, is a major share of global wealth and savings mpelled toward a United States (US) Wall Street centered casino ? Why has an increasingly gapping chasm crystallized between ever bloating global financial activities and the �real” world economy of production and trade? How is it that wealthy governments�injecting trillions of dollars into stumbling financial sectors across the globe is failing to create new decent jobs? The present volume clearly answers these questions and more as it connects the dots linking the 2008 meltdown and over a decade of dress rehearsals for it to a rigged global financial game that cemented US international dominance under conditions where the US simultaneously attained the status of world�s principal debtor economy. It traces out the complicity of Japan in the game beholden as it was to US anti-communist largesse for its meteoric post-war rise. It examines how China, the former communist Cold War nemesis, paradoxically became the next major underwriter of US debt and exporter of global deflation as is sets low wage rates for the world. The present volume clearly answers these questions and more as it connects the dots linking the 2008 meltdown and over a decade of dress rehearsals for it to a rigged global financial game that cemented US international dominance under conditions where the US simultaneously attained the status of world�s principal debtor economy. It traces out the complicity of Japan in the game beholden as it was to US anti-communist largesse for its meteoric post-war rise. It examines how China, the former communist Cold War nemesis, paradoxically became the next major underwriter of US debt and exporter of global deflation as is sets low wage rates for the world.
Exit from Globalization moves from theory to practice: from questions of where incorrigible knowledge of substantive economic life derives and how that knowledge is put towards making a progressive, redistributive, eco-sustainable future of human flourishing. Westra discards at the outset views that the root of current economic ills is the old devil we know, capitalism. Rather, he maintains the neoliberal decades spawned a "Merchant of Venice" economic excrescence bent upon expropriation and rent seeking which will scrape all the flesh from the bones of humanity if not stopped dead in its tracks. En route to providing a viable design for the human future in line with transformatory demands of socialists and Greens, Westra exorcizes both Soviet demons and ghosts of neoliberal ideologues past which lent support to the position that there is no alternative to "the market". Exit from Globalization shows in a clear and compelling fashion that while debates over the possibility of another, potentially socialist, world swirl around this or that grand society-wide scheme, the fact is that creative future directed thinking has at its disposal several economic principles that transformatory actors may choose from and combine in various ways to remake human economic life. The book concludes with an examination of the various social constituencies currently supporting radical change and explores the narrowing pathways to bring change about.
Based upon distinguishing capitalism from other economic systems, as well as analysis of capitalist change across its stages of development, Richard Westra argues that the economic tendencies we refer to as globalization constitute a world historic transition away from capitalism. Westra forcefully rejects claims from both Right and Left sides of economic debate that globalization embodies the ultimate world diffusion of capitalism. He concludes that the choice facing humanity is no longer between capitalism and socialism but between socialism and global barbarism. The argument is meticulously interwoven through four key foci of political economy - The role of Marx’s Capital in producing knowledge of capitalism, The periodizing of capitalism and study of its historical models, The altering trajectories of production and finance under current globalization, The place of socialism in a progressive future. A central point of the book is that determinations over the capitalist substance of existing economies demand precise understanding of how in its basic operation capitalism manages to secure the economic reproducibility of human society in the first place. To make the case for the passing of capitalism from history the volume draws upon the novel Japanese Uno approach to Marxian political economy. From the pages of Political Economy and Globalization emerges a grim picture of our human future should current economic trends persist. It also offers a positive vision for socio-material betterment in redistributive, eco-sensitive socialist societies of tomorrow. This is a must read book for scholars, students, progressive policy makers and activists.
In this collection authors from eight different countries, representing a wide variety of academic disciplines and theoretical perspectives, investigate the differing phases of capitalist development. They offer diverse and powerful analyses of the postwar boom, economic crises and globalization within this context.
Exploring such acts of environmental violence as "ecocrimes," the author builds the case that the international law principles of jus cogens and erga omnes justify characterizing ecocrime as a "just crime" requiring action to curb their occurrence and punishment to deter them. The book discusses the obstacles that defining environmental assaults as "ecocrimes" will face both in national and international circumstances. The author concludes by proposing the creation of an International Environmental Court that would adjudicate "ecocrime" issues. This forward thinking work will be of great interest to all involved in the human rights issues of environmental threats. Published under the Transnational Publishers imprint.
Since the UN Charter came into effect in 1945, there have been numerous incidents in which one or more of the five major powers (at least arguably) violated the Charter's Article 2(4) prohibition of force. Such incidents notwithstanding, this book demonstrates how the Charter restrains the major powers' military actions. As an instrument of international order, the Charter provides a framework of legal rules restricting the use of armed force. Although these rules are subject to auto-interpretation by the major powers (as a consequence of their veto), they create an expectation of compliance that subjects the major powers' military actions to international scrutiny. To reduce the likelihood of resistance from states threatened by such actions, major powers exercise prudential restraint, altering the manner and timing of their military actions in accordance with the legal arguments offered to justify those actions as consistent with the Charter and therefore not threatening to the existing international order. The book evaluates the efficacy of the Charter using large-N methods and five case studies: US intervention in the Caribbean, 1953–61; Anglo- French intervention in Egypt, 1956; Soviet intervention in Hungary, 1956; US–British intervention in Iraq, 1990–98; and US–British intervention in Iraq, 1999–2003. The book's extensive focus on the two Iraq cases provides a basis for timely evaluation of the continuing salience and possible reforms of the UN Charter system. This book will be of much interest to students of security studies, the UN, international law, and international relations.
There is a lot written on climate change from various points of view, but this is the first work that demonstrates the connection between the hunger of the poor, the deprivation of safe and healthy food on the part of those who can afford it in the wealthy countries, but still face starvation in the sense of lack of nourishment, and climate change itself. It looks at the case law and the jurisdiction of the ICC, and adopts a thorough critical approach. This book is an excellent contribution to the development of the debate on climate change.
The growth of corporate power has kept pace with and even exceeded the rapid rise of globalization in the past two decades. With it has come the weakening of a nation’s ability to hold corporate power in check, and the increasing inability of states to protect the rights of individuals within their national boundaries as a result of the growing number of international legal instruments. This work lays bare corporate actions both domestic and international, under the guise of legal "personhood," and shows how corporations flaunt laws and act as controlling powers beyond the constraints imposed on legal state citizens. Corporations are now “embedded” within domestic legal regimes and insinuate themselves to subvert the very systems designed to restrain corporate power and protect the public weal. Using international vehicles like the WTO and NAFTA, corporate collective power effectively supersedes the constitutional mandate of nation states.
This wise and practical book provides effective strategies for helping therapy clients with anxiety resolve ambivalence and increase their intrinsic motivation for change. The author shows how to infuse the spirit and methods of motivational interviewing (MI) into cognitive-behavioral therapy or any other anxiety-focused treatment. She describes specific ways to use MI as a pretreatment intervention or integrate it throughout the course of therapy whenever motivational impasses occur. Vivid clinical material -- including a chapter-length case example of a client presenting with anxiety and depression -- enhances the utility of this accessible guide. This title is part of the Applications of Motivational Interviewing Series, edited by Stephen Rollnick and William R. Miller.
It is increasingly argued that a focus on environmental sustainability is fundamental to effective and equitable governance, and ultimately for the good of mankind. This book argues that, in the face increasing environmental challenges, it is essential to recognise the role that ecological integrity has played, and must play, in governance for environmental sustainability in order to ensure the future survival of life on earth. Ecological integrity encompasses not only the necessity of respect for nature, but also the human right to a sound and healthy environment. The author shows that on this basis, acceptance of its primacy in law and governance is key to a sustainable and equitable future for all. The book presents a uniquely informed treatise on the term, its origins, evolution and position in current debates, exploring the conflicts which have so far prevented its acceptance. Written by a leading scholar on the subject, this book provides the most in-depth exposition of ecological integrity available to increase understanding of this crucial concept and encourage its adoption in governance and international law.
This volume explores the factors that give rise to the number of people seeking asylum and examines the barriers they currently and will continue to face. Divided into three parts, the authors first explore the causality that generates displacement, examining climate change, illegal conflicts and the deprivation of natural resources. They argue that all of these problems either originate from human agency directly, or are strongly influenced by human activities, particularly those of wealthy countries in the North West. The study goes on to discuss how migrants are received and the problems they face on arrival, and concludes with confronting the fate and the status of asylum seekers after arrival, and the walls, both virtual and material, that they encounter. The authors propose ways of approaching the situation, beyond the present language and the limited interpretations of the Convention on the Status of Refugees. Written by leading experts in environmental ethics, asylum law, and international law, the book will be essential reading for those working in these and related areas.
International law has evolved to protect human rights. But what are human rights? Does the term have the same meaning in a world being transformed by climate change and globalized trade? Are existing laws sufficient to ensure humanity’s survival? Drawing on case law and practice and examples from philosophy, law, and ecology, Laura Westra argues that the current system is not adequate: international law privileges individual over collective rights, permitting multinational corporations to overlook the collectivity and the environment in their quest for wealth and power. Unless policy makers redefine human rights and reformulate environmental law and policies to protect the preconditions for life itself -- water, food, clean air, and biodiversity -- humankind faces the complete loss of the ecological commons, the preservation of which is one of our most basic human rights. A new kind of cosmopolitanism, one centred on the United Nations, offers the best hope for preserving our common heritage and the survival of future generations.
Terrorism, a widespread global phenomenon, manifests itself in the actions and the policies of individuals and groups, but also and primarily in the actions and policies of states. Delving into the seldom-discussed question of the motivation for most episodes of terrorism, this book studies terrorism’s effects based on the economic and geopolitical imbalances that frame today's global governance. The main goal of terrorism is to induce terror, and perhaps to influence public opinion for political change. Many states hide their terrorist activities under the “faces” they show the world, masks intended to hide real aims of acquiring or expanding power and wealth. These activities, presented as “self-defense,” “preventive action,” “counter-measures” or even as promoting "progress and development," are forms of state terrorism that are much more widespread, powerful, and destructive than the actions originating from groups labeled terrorist since 9/11. This book examines the numerous illegal measures states use, from unlawful imprisonment and curtailing of civil liberties to torture, in the name of responding to terrorism. At the same time, it considers how trade and industrial activities terrorize people by depriving them of the natural resources they need to survive and by exposing communities to life-threatening hazardous conditions. In closing, the book considers how existing laws might stem the tide of state terrorism. The conclusions are not optimistic: the UN's systems and legal regimes are clear in defense of human rights, but the structure and nature of state power do not permit these mandates to prevail. With a foreword by Tullio Scovazzi.
This innovative book takes a new look at environmental ethics and the need for ecological and biological integrity. Laura Westra explores the necessity for radical alteration not only of interpersonal ethics, but also of social institutions and public policy. In the process, Westra denies the validity of majority rule in environmentally ethical concerns. Issues discussed in the book include the link between ecological integrity and human health; an environmental evaluation of business and technology; biotechnology and transgenics in agriculture and aquaculture; and the environmental ethics of the ancient Greeks and Kant. Living in Integrity is a valuable book for philosophers and environmentalists alike.
In this work Laura Westra draws our attention to the failure of international law to promote and protect the rights of society in the face of the ravages of neoliberal agendas in an era of globalization. This book outlines how international law is perhaps a misnomer, and at its core there is a great distance between laws as they are written and laws as they are implemented. Each chapter in this volume peels back the illusions of laws as instruments designed to protect the public welfare, and shows how the intersection of globalization and neoliberal democracy has stripped people of their dignity, has violated human rights, has resulted in ecological disaster, all for the singular goal of profit and in the name of so-called economic rationality. Westra demonstrates how documents like national constitutions, with its eloquent language on the rights of its citizens, are cast aside when it comes to defending those rights. Calling international law a failed enterprise, the heart of this book explores how we may yet reconstruct a true system of international rights enforced by real international laws, and contemplates the limitations and possibilities of international organizations to effectively address truly international problems. Through the lens of what might be called a political ecology Westra offers us a call for action to protect our environments and indeed our selves.
Python is a highly expressive language that makes it easy to write sophisticated programs. Combining high-quality geospatial data with Python geospatial libraries will give you a powerful toolkit for solving a range of geospatial programming tasks. The book begins with an introduction to geospatial analysis and programming and explains the ideas behind geospatial data. You will explore Python libraries for building your own geospatial applications. You will learn to create a geospatial database for your application using PostGIS and the psycopg2 library, and see how the Mapnik library can be used to create attractive and useful maps. Finally, you will learn to use the Shapely and NetworkX libraries to create, analyze, and manipulate complex geometric objects, before implementing a system to match GPS recordings against a database of roads to produce a heatmap of the most frequently used roads.
ADVANCED PRAISE FOR PASTOR UNIQUE: Becoming a Turnaround Leader Each year thousands of books are written, published, and distributed. Few are really significant works. Pastor Unique is, in my view, a significant book. Gary L. McIntosh, D.Min., Ph.D. Talbot Seminary, Biola University Helping pastors understand themselves and their role is crucial and fundamental. So is training them in the tactics and strategies of change. Furthermore, they must learn how their personalities help or hinder leading change. I believe the process described in this book is targeted more specifically than any other I know to provide this training . Paul Borden. Ph.D. Director, Church Health Initiative I am grateful to the authors for including The Birkman Method in their work with pastors. My father, Roger Birkman, was passionate about helping people of faith gain a clearer, more accurate understanding of self and others. The authentic kind of leadership development recommended in this book will profoundly impact pastors and the people they lead. We are proud that Birkman can play a role in the important initiative represented in Pastor Unique. Sharon Birkman Fink, CEO Birkman International, Inc. Are you still searching for that killer church health conference, that rock star pastor to imitate, or the perfect formula that will tell you how lead your church to effective service in Jesus mission? Pastors who chase dreams of high powered ministry by looking for answers outside of themselves are inevitably discouraged when they learn that what works for others wont work for them. If thats your story, Pastor Unique is what youve been looking for. Inside you will learn how to use all the tools the Head of the Church has already given you your identity, your personality, and your life experience to become a turnaround leader in your church.
Protesters and mass demonstrations by citizens of many democratic countries are increasingly daily occurrences reported in today's news media. These protests are often considered to be illegal or are charged with disrupting the peace, and even when they are non-violent assemblies they are attacked by police and riot squads called in to disperse the protesters. Through a careful review of opposition to injustice, this book demonstrates that most often these protests and demonstrations are in support of and defend moral and legal principles that their democratic governments have forgotten to uphold or have chosen to ignore. Much like the earlier Civil Rights Movement in the US, that was centered on issues of social justice and human dignity, Westra concludes that today's protesters and social movements rally to defend human rights and moral principles against the undue influence of corporate actors, and raise their voice in opposition to the resulting actions by and under the authority of their governments.
Students, military historians, and casual readers will all find this compelling collection useful in learning about escape strategies, hostage situations, and rescue operations during times of conflict. Great Wartime Escapes and Rescues tells the captivating stories of dozens of escapes and rescues from conflicts dating from the 16th century to present, with extensive coverage of the world wars of the 20th century and the Vietnam War. In addition, escapes and rescues related to terrorist activities and regional conflicts are featured. Some stories of escapes and rescues included in this work have been written about extensively and portrayed in films, including The Great Escape and Captain Phillips' rescue by Navy SEALs. Other stories are less widely known but just as absorbing. The book opens with a detailed introductory essay that illuminates the government policies and tactics various countries have used to rescue soldiers and civilians during wartime, as well as the diverse methods that prisoners of war have used to escape notorious camps and prisons. The entries, organized alphabetically, are augmented by engaging sidebars related to the escapes and rescues. The book also includes references to such sources as autobiographies, biographies, news accounts, and interviews with veterans.
On Hunger focuses on the interface between food and public health and on the flawed regulations intended to protect us. Food not only represents nourishment for the body; it also possesses other valuable aspects that are protected by international legal instruments. Westra argues for the importance of effecting radical changes: to protect and improve the present system of food production and distribution. Starting from several reports produced by the FAO and the WHO, Westra argues for the need of a complete and radical re-evaluatio of current practices and systems in order to meet the obligation of the international community to prevent hunger. There is a particular emphasis on the problems facing the poor in the third world, but also the different but equally grave problems of those in developed countries, where the emphasis remans on corporate profit rather than on the protection of individuals, as present dangers affect all, starting from the children of all ages. Most of the existing literature on hunger and food does not address the harm that current practices inflict on people globally. Laura Westra’s On Hunger focuses on the interface between food and public health and on the flawed regulations intended to protect us. Food not only represents nourishment for the body; it also possesses other valuable aspects that are protected by international legal instruments. Westra argues for the importance of effecting radical changes: to protect and improve the present system of food production and distribution. This timely book explores every aspect of this challenge, from the impact of climate change, the role of the media and obligations to future generations. Westra also considers the legality of financial contributions on the part of agribusiness to political figures and campaigns, as well as their intrusion in the drafting of bills and regulatory regimes. Finally, the book highlights more positive developments,including the expansion of the remit of the International Criminal Court to include environmental crimes. On Hunger offers an original take on this increasingly important issue and will provide fascinating reading for scholars and students in law, philosophy and human rights.
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