Taking back our lives in the age of corporate dominance

423 Pages·2000·0.95 MB·English

by  Ellen Schwartz, Suzanne Stoddard

Taking Back Our Lives in the Age of
title:
Corporate Dominance
author: Schwartz, Ellen.; Stoddard, Suzanne
publisher: Berrett Koehler
isbn10 | asin: 1576750787
print isbn13: 9781576750780
ebook isbn13: 9781583764602
language: English
Technology--Social aspects, United States--
subject Social conditions--1980- , United States--
Economic conditions--1981-
publication date: 2000
lcc: HM846.S39 2000eb
ddc: 306/.0973
Technology--Social aspects, United States--
Social conditions--1980- , United States--
subject:
Economic conditions--1981-
Taking Back Our Lives
"Taking Back Our Lives is a powerful examination of the forces we all
face in a society pulling us away from our authentic, deeper selves. It
offers refreshing solutions that speak to the heart and uplift our
spirits."
Scott and Shannon Peck, coauthors of Liberating Your Magnificence:
25 Keys to Loving and Healing Yourself
"Taking Back Our Lives in the Age of Corporate Dominance embodies
the message of conscious evolution by giving us guidance on how to
transform the corporate structure."
Barbara Marx Hubbard, author of The Revelation: A Message of Hope
for the New Millenium
"Taking Back Our Lives is a very courageous book by two highly
qualified women who dare to speak their truth about a reality the
media avoidsthe corporate consumer culture eroding our
democracyand then show us practical alternatives that start right at
home. A timely imperative for survival. Read it and act now!"
Elisabet Sahtouris, author of A Walk Through Time and Biology
Revisioned
"Taking Back Our Lives is not just a book. It is a bold and courageous
exposé of what is happening to our society without our conscious
knowledge. It is well-documented and thought-provoking, giving
substance to what most of us only talk about among ourselves. It
challenges all Americans to wake up, offering positive action steps
that each of us can take to empower ourselves individually and
collectively."
Rama Vernon, Founder, Women of Vision and Action, and President,
The Center for International Dialogue
"Taking Back Our Lives in the Age of Corporate Dominance is a
welcome blueprint we should not only read, but also live by. My life
changed by reading and living the message."
Howard F. Lyman, author of Mad Cowboy
"This book is more than timely. It is a vital guide to the self-
improvement we need to move off of the self-destructive path that
threatens us and our future."
Margaret Wheatley, author of Leadership and the New Science and
coauthor of A Simpler Way
"Schwartz and Stoddard have the best plan yet to deal with the world
increasingly run by corporations and money: personal disengagement.
They tell us how to find our own 'moral alternative' to economic
globalization and live it. A great book."
Maude Barlow, Volunteer National Chairperson of the Council of
Canadians
"Taking Back Our Lives in the Age of Corporate Dominance interlaces
the personal and the political. An original combination of critical
politics and New Age optimism."
Michael Parenti, author of History as Mystery and America Besieged
"Taking Back Our Lives is a powerful and sharp-cutting truthtelling, a
necessary awakening, and an extraordinarily practical collection of
solutions for literally the survival of all life on earth."
Thom Hartmann, author of The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight and
The Prophet's Way
Page iii
Taking Back Our Lives
In the Age of Corporate Dominance
Ellen Schwartz and Suzanne Stoddard
Copyright © 2000 by Ellen Schwartz and Suzanne Stoddard
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including
photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without
the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief
quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial
uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the
publisher, addressed "Attention: Permissions Coordinator," at the address
below.
Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.
450 Sansome Street, Suite 1200
San Francisco, CA 94111-3320
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Website: www.bkconnection.com
Printed in the United States of America
Printed on acid-free and recycled paper that is composed of 50 percent
recovered fiber, including 10 percent postconsumer waste.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Schwartz, Ellen
Taking back our lives in the age of corporate dominance / Ellen Schwartz and
Suzanne Stoddard.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-57675-078-7 (alk. paper)
1. TechnologySocial aspects. 2. United StatesSocial conditions1980
3. United StatesEconomic conditions1981 I. Stoddard, Suzanne II. Title.
HM846 .S39 2000
306'.0973dc21 99054916
First Edition
04 03 02 01 00 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Designed by Detta Penna
Page v
I dedicate this book to my daughter, Andrea,
who gave up countless hours with me so that
I might speak my truth, and to my father John,
who is on the other side.
He believed in me and was proud of me
before I had any inkling who I was.
Ellen
I dedicate this book to my brother Rupert,
who died well before I ever thought
of writing a book, and who remains
my greatest inspiration in giving and forgiving.
Suzanne
We dedicate this book to all the children of the
world who are counting on each of us
to make the choices that will
create the world anew.
Page vii
CONTENTS
Foreword ix
Acknowledgments xi
Part I 1
How Corporate Structures, Products, and Processes Impact
Our Work and Personal Lives
Introduction 3
Chapter 1 9
A Time of Turbulence: When Too Much Information Keeps
Us from Knowing the Truth
Chapter 2 15
The Gift That Keeps On Taking: How the Bottom-Line
Mentality Is Bottoming Out Our Lives and the Planet
Chapter 3 37
The Hidden Costs of Competition: The Heavy Price We
Pay to Win
Chapter 4 49
This Is Entertainment? TV As Purveyor of a Culture of
Disrespect and Promoter of a Passive Populace
Chapter 5 67
Media, Girls, and Body Image: How Impossible Images of
Physical Perfection Are Making Our Girls Sick
Chapter 6 73
The Best Government Big Money Can Buy: Can a
Corporate-Sponsored Democracy Serve the People?