• From the bestselling author of When Corporations Rule the World
• An extensively researched, powerfully argued, eye-opening critique of how today's corporate captialism is destroying the things of real value in the world-like cancer destroys life
• Portrays a hopeful future-alternatives to a corporate-dominated and money-ruled world-in showing how to resore health to markets, democracy, and every day life
• Offers practical suggestions for individuals who want to contribute to the process of change
• Co-published with Kumarian Press
There is a deep chasm between the promises of the new global capitalism and the reality of social breakdown, spiritual emptiness, and environmental destruction it is leaving in its wake. In this important book, David Korten makes a compelling and well-documented case that capitalism is actually delivering a fatal blow not only to life, but also to democracy and the market. Among his startling ideas:
Capitalism is a pathology that commonly afflicts market economies in the absence of vigilant public oversight. Since the economy internal to a corporation is a planned economy, the current consolidation of economic control under a handful of global corporations is a victory for central planning-not the market economy. The alternative to the new global capitalism is a global system of thriving, healthy market economies that function as extensions of healthy local ecosystems to meet the livelihood needs of people and communities.
Radical as such proposals may seem, they actually reflect processes that are steadily gaining momentum around the world. The Post-Corporate World provides a vision of what's needed and what's possible, as well as a detailed agenda for change. Korten shows that to have a just, sustainable and compassionate society, concentrated absentee ownership and footloose speculative capital as embodied in the global, for-profit public corporation must be eliminated in favor of enterprises based on patient, rooted, stakeholder ownership limited to those who have a stake in the firm as a worker, supplier, customer, or member of the community in which it is located.
Korten outlines numerous specific actions to free the creative powers of individuals and societies through the realization of real democracy, the local rooting of capital through stakeholder ownership, and a restructuring of the rules of commerce to create "mindful market" economies that combine market principles with a culture that nurtures social bonding and responsibility.
Like Korten's previous bestseller, When Corporations Rule the World, this provocative book is sure to stimulate national dialogue and debate and inspire a bevy of grassroots discussions and initiatives. The Post-Corporate World presents readers with a profound challenge and an empowering sense of hope.
Many organizations that place emphasis on teamwork tend to value people who promote themselves and think on their feet. Meanwhile, quiet types like programmers and other techies, who sit alone and become absorbed in their work, are often overlooked or misunderstood. But introverts can be highly effective influencers when they forego an extrovert’s in-your-face techniques and use their natural strengths to make a difference.
In this video workshop based on her book Quiet Influence: The Introvert's Guide to Making a Difference (Berrett-Koehler), Jennifer Kahnweiler identifies specific workplace challenges for introverts—including "people exhaustion"—and helps you investigate strengths and weaknesses in the context of a real-life work scenario. The bulk of this video shows how introverts can succeed at work by cultivating six key strengths:
Several exercises will help you connect with these concepts. Introversion didn’t derail Tim Cook or Warren Buffett. It doesn’t have to impede your livelihood, either. This video was produced in partnership with Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
Jennifer B. Kahnweiler, Ph.D., is a global speaker, bestselling author and thought leader who helps introverts lead with quiet confidence. Her bestselling books, The Introverted Leader, Quiet Influence, and The Genius of Opposites, have been translated into 14 languages.
Jennifer has worked with hundreds of organizations including GE, Hewlett-Packard, NASA, Boeing and the CDC She is a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), granted to only 8% of the National Speaker’s Association and she invites you to visit her website at jenniferkahnweiler.com/.
2014
This edition examines the role overconsumption played in the 2008 economic collapse, & how our economy and society have changed since.
Welcome to the enhanced edition of Affluenza! Each chapter of this updated third edition features scenes from the popular national PBS specials “Affluenza” and “Escape from Affluenza,” co-produced by Affluenza co-author John de Graaf and hosted by National Public Radio's Scott Simon.
This iconic book shows how problems ranging from loneliness, endless working hours, and family conflict to rising debt, environmental pollution, and rampant commercialism are all symptoms of this global plague. In the enhanced edition you'll see hilarious skits including the frightening original diagnosis of “affluenza” and the shocking “surrender of the Joneses.” You'll meet experts and hear from ordinary people about how affluenza has affected their lives and what they are doing about it. You'll see victims of shopping fever and swollen expectations as they roam through the “affluenza hot zones” of tourist-destination shopping malls, watch in horror as marketers plan the manipulation of children, take a quick trip through the history of this dreaded disease, and see its often invisible but terrible consequences made visible. But it's not all gloom and doom—far from it. You'll also drop in on a simplicity circle (“affluholics anonymous!”), wander through a magical marsh where you come out enriched “and your wallet is still as full as when you left home,” and share the life of an urban family who is beating the bug! The authors also trace the role overconsumption played in the Great Recession, discuss new ways to measure social health and success (such as the Gross Domestic Happiness index), and offer policy recommendations to make our society more simplicity-friendly.
Remember that nine out of ten doctors recommend this book as the cure for affluenza! Happy reading and…happy viewing!
There are a total of 23 videos spanning 39:36 minute. File size: 379.7 MB
Based on two highly acclaimed PBS documentaries watched by 10 million viewers, Affluenza uses the whimsical metaphor of a disease to tackle a very serious subject: the damage done-to our health, our families, our communities, and our environment-by the obsessive quest for material gain. In cleverly titled chapters such as "Swollen Expectations" and "A Rash of Bankruptcies," the authors examine the origins, evolution, and symptoms of the affluenza epidemic. But they also explore cures and suggest strategies for rebuilding families and communities and for restoring and respecting the earth.
The 2008 economic collapse demonstrated how prophetic this book was. The third edition examines the role overconsumption played in the collapse and how our economy and society have changed since then. The authors also discuss new ways to measure social health and success, such as the Gross Domestic Happiness index, and offer policy recommendations to make our society more simplicity-friendly. The underlying message isn't to stop buying; it's to buy carefully and consciously, remembering, always, that the best things in life aren't things.
affluenza, n. a painful, contagious, virally transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety, and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more.