Whose Crisis, Whose Future: Towards a Greener, Fairer, Richer World

by Susan George

Crisis? Whose crisis? Today we are in the midst of a multifaceted crisis which touches the lives of everyone on the planet. Whether it's growing poverty and inequality or shrinking access to food and water, the collapse of global financial markets or the dire effects of climate change, every aspect of this crisis can be traced to a transnational neoliberal elite that has steadily eroded our rights and stripped us of power. And yet our world has never been so wealthy, and we have, right now, all the knowledge, tools and skills we need to build a greener, fairer, richer world. Such a breakthrough is not some far-fetched utopia, but an immediate, concrete possibility. Our future is in our hands.

Genres: Nonfiction, Economics, Environment, Politics

212 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2010

About the author

Susan George is a well-known political scientist and writer on global social justice, Third World poverty, underdevelopment and debt. She is a fellow and president of the board of the Transnational Institute in Amsterdam. She is a fierce critic of the present policies of the IMF, World Bank, and what she calls their "maldevelopment model". She similarly criticizes the structural reform policies of the Washington Consensus on Third World development. She is of U.S. birth but now resides in France, and has dual citizenship.

In January 2007 she received an honorary doctorate from Newcastle University in the UK and in early March the International Studies Association at its congress in Chicago presented her with its first award to an Outstanding Public Scholar.

Reviews

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have long been a fan of the writings of Susan George. This is an important book exploring the realities of the crises facing society today.

[Enrique Barreiro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un libro fantástico... y deprimente, que nos muestra cómo y por qué lo que la autora llama "la clase de Davos" realmente maneja el mundo a su antojo, respondiendo al comportamiento de las clases económicamente privilegiadas que ya describió Adam Smith (sí, Adam Smith): "todo para nosotros y nada para los demás".

Los mercados financieros del mundo son un casino en el que un puñado de personas mueven cantidades inimaginables de dinero de un lugar a otro, sin que les cueste absolutamente nada, especulando con todo lo especulable, y Susan George nos muestra con un estilo muy ameno, claro y con la dosis justa de indignación las implicaciones de esta situación.

Pero lo mejor es que no se limita a mostrar una situación apocalíptica y propone soluciones y líneas de acción.

[Kate · Rating 1 out of 5]

Even though I agree with most of what the author has to say, I found this book shrill and tedious. For a woman with lots of opinions, I was hoping George would offer more practical solutions.