Benjamin R. Barber Volgorde van de boeken (chronologisch)

"In the face of the most perilous challenges of our time--climate change, terrorism, poverty, and trafficking of drugs, guns, and people--the nations of the world seem paralyzed. The problems are too big for governments to deal with. Benjamin Barber contends that cities, and the mayors who run them, can do and are doing a better job than nations. He cites the unique qualities cities worldwide share: pragmatism, civic trust, participation, indifference to borders and sovereignty, and a democratic penchant for networking, creativity, innovation, and cooperation. He demonstrates how city mayors, singly and jointly, are responding to transnational problems more effectively than nation-states mired in ideological infighting and sovereign rivalries. The book features profiles of a dozen mayors around the world, making a persuasive case that the city is democracy's best hope in a globalizing world, and that great mayors are already proving that this is so"--

"Powerful and disturbing. No one who cares about the future of our public life can afford to ignore this book." —Jackson Lears

Benjamin R. Barber lambasts the Bush administration's attempt to fight fear with fear in the age of terrorism and argues against the tendency to confuse the spread of McWorld - the seductive blend of free-market ideology and American brands - with the spread of democracy. containment and deterrence, and the dilemmas faced by America today. He rails against unilateralism, nuclear deterrence and reliance on military solutions, advocating instead an America that promotes co-operation, multilateralism, international law and pooled sovereignty.

Jihad vs. McWorld is a groundbreaking work, an elegant and illuminating analysis of the central conflict of our times: consumerist capitalism versus religious and tribal fundamentalism. These diametrically opposed but strangely intertwined forces are tearing apart--and bringing together--the world as we know it, undermining democracy and the nation-state on which it depends. On the one hand, consumer capitalism on the global level is rapidly dissolving the social and economic barriers between nations, transforming the world's diverse populations into a blandly uniform market. On the other hand, ethnic, religious, and racial hatreds are fragmenting the political landscape into smaller and smaller tribal units. Jihad vs. McWorld is the term that distinguished writer and political scientist Benjamin R. Barber has coined to describe the powerful and paradoxical interdependence of these forces. In this important new book, he explores the alarming repercussions of this potent dialectic for democracy. A work of persuasive originality and penetrating insight, Jihad vs. McWorld holds up a sharp, clear lens to the dangerous chaos of the post-Cold War world. Critics and political leaders have already heralded Benjamin R. Barber's work for its bold vision and moral courage. Jihad vs. McWorld is an essential text for anyone who wants to understand our troubled present and the crisis threatening our future.

Offers liberal society a way of thinking about and of practicing democracy. This title argues that an excess of liberalism has undermined our democratic institutions and brought about the set of crises we find ourselves struggling against: cynicism about voting, alienation, privatization, and the growing paralysis of public institutions.

Although the conflict and the bloodshed in the name of democracy have given us some of our noblest moments, democracy itself remains one of the most flawed, confusing, threatened, and complex of human institutions. By examining the paradoxes and perplexities, The Struggle for Democracy provides a clear understanding of the origin and nature of democracy, including the extraordinary idea of citizenship, the tremendous achievement of free speech, and the enormous power placed in the hands of ordinary men and women. The book includes commentary on monumentally historic events such as the destruction of the Berlin Wall, the infamous student demonstrations in Tiananmen Square, and the collapse of communism in the former Soviet Union. In an inspiring introductory chapter, Patrick Watson reflects on the challenges facing world democracy as it enters the new millennium. In a concluding chapter, Benjamin Barber examines the future of democracy and the impact that globalization and technology will have on both emerging and established democracies.