402 Increasingly concerned that the economic models embraced by official aid agencies were increasing poverty and environmental destruction and that these agencies were impervious to change from within, Korten broke with the official aid system. His last five years in Asia were devoted to working with leaders of Asian nongovernmental organizations on identifying the root causes of development failure in the region and building the capacity of civil society organizations to function as strategic catalysts of positive national- and global-level change.
Korten came to realize that the crisis of deepening poverty, inequality, environmental devastation, and social disintegration he observed in Asia was playing out in nearly every country in the world—including the United States and other “developed” countries. Furthermore, he concluded that the United States was actively promoting—both at home and abroad—the very policies that were deepening the crisis. If there were to be a positive human future, the United States must change. He returned to the United States in 1992 to share with his fellow Americans the lessons he had learned abroad.
Dr. Korten’s publications are required reading in university courses around the world. He has authored numerous books, including the international best seller When Corporations Rule the World and The Post-Corporate World: Life After Capitalism. He contributes regularly to edited books and professional journals, and to a wide variety of periodical publications. He is also a popular international speaker and a regular guest on talk radio and television.
ALSO FROM KUMARIAN PRESS…
CIVIL SOCIETY AND GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT
A Civil Republic: Beyond Capitalism and Nationalism
Severyn T. Bruyn
Sustainable Capitalism: A Matter of Common Sense
John E. Ikerd
Capitalism and Justice
John Isbister
Creating a Better World: Interpreting Global Civil Society
Edited by Rupert Taylor
Working for Change: Making a Career in International Public Service
Derick W. Brinkerhoff and Jennifer M. Binkerhoff
NEW AND FORTHCOMING KUMARIAN PRESS TITLES
Coming of Age in a Globalized World: The Next Generation
J. Michael Adams and Angelo Carfagna
Transnational Civil Society: An Introduction
Edited by Srilatha Batliwala and L. David Brown
Non-State Actors in the Human Rights Universe
Edited by George Andreopoulos, Zehra Arat, and Peter Juviler
Visit Kumarian Press at www.kpbooks.com or call toll-free 800.289.2664 for a complete catalog.
ABOUT BERRETT-KOEHLER PUBLISHERS
Berrett-Koehler is an independent publisher dedicated to an ambitious mission: Creating a World that Works for All.
We believe that to truly create a better world, action is needed at all levels —individual, organizational, and societal. At the individual level, our publications help people align their lives and work with their deepest values. At the organizational level, our publications promote progressive leadership and management practices, socially responsible approaches to business, and humane and effective organizations. At the societal level, our publications advance social and economic justice, shared prosperity, sustainable development, and new solutions to national and global issues.
A major theme of our publications is “Opening Up New Space.” They challenge conventional thinking, introduce new points of view, and offer new alternatives for change. Their common quest is changing the underlying beliefs, mindsets, institutions, and structures that keep generating the same cycles of problems, no matter who our leaders are or what improvement programs we adopt.
We strive to practice what we preach—to operate our publishing company in line with the ideas in our books. At the core of our approach is stewardship, which we define as a deep sense of responsibility to administer the company for the benefit of all of our “stakeholder” groups: authors, customers, employees, investors, service providers, and the communities and environment around us. We seek to establish a partnering relationship with each stakeholder that is open, equitable, and collaborative.
We are gratified that thousands of readers, authors, and other friends of the company consider themselves to be part of the “BK Community.” We hope that you, too, will join our community and connect with us through the ways described on our website at www.bkconnection.com.
A BK CURRENTS TITLE
This book is part of our BK Currents series. BK Currents titles advance social and economic justice by exploring the critical intersections between business and society. Offering a unique combination of thoughtful analysis and progressive alternatives, BK Currents titles promote positive change at the national and global levels.
To find out more, visit www.bkconnection.com.
SELECTED BK CURRENTS TITLES FROM BERRETT-KOEHLER PUBLISHERS
Also by David C. Korten
The Post-Corporate World: Life After Capitalism
When Corporations Rule the World
Alternatives to Economic Globalization: A Better World Is Possible
John Cavanagh and Jerry Mander
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
John Perkins
The Fox in the Henhouse: How Privatization Threatens Democracy
Si Kahn and Elizabeth Minnich
Great American Jobs Scam: Corporate Tax Dodging and the Myth of Job Creation
Greg LeRoy
Hidden Power: What You Need to Know to Save Our Democracy
Charles Derber
The People’s Business: Controlling Corporations and Restoring Democracy
Lee Drutman and Charlie Cray
Gangs of America: The Rise of Corporate Power and the Disabling of Democracy
Ted Nace
Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic
John De Graaf, David Wann, and Thomas H. Naylor
Corporations and the Public Interest: Guiding the Invisible Hand
Steve Lydenberg
All titles are available at your favorite bookseller or directly from Berrett-Koehler: Call 800-929-2929, or order online at bkconnection.com
Be Connected
Go to www.bkconnection.com to read exclusive previews and excerpts of new books. See what others are saying about our books and post your own thoughts on in the BK Currents blog at blog.bkcurrents.com.
TABLE 1.1: The choice
Empire Earth Community
Life is hostile and competitive Life is supportive and cooperative
Humans are flawed and dangerous Humans have many possibilities
Order by dominator hierarchy Order through partnership
Compete or die Cooperate and live
Love power Love life
Defend the rights of the self Defend the rights of all
Masculine dominant Gender balanced
TABLE 21-1: Critical distinguishing features
Global imperial economy Local living economies
The defining purpose is to make money for owners to increase their power and their claims to the resources of the many. The defining purpose is to secure fulfilling livelihoods for all and increase the generative power of the whole.
The guiding mantra is create global monopolies to eliminate local choice, take all you can get and pass costs to others. The guiding mantra is create beneficial local options, take only what you need, and accept responsibility for the whole.
The rules favor absentee owners, monopoly-scale enterprises, financial speculators, rights of property, and central planning by global corporations. The rules favor participating owners, human-scale enterprises, wealth creators, rights of people, and self-organization by people and communities.
Denying any responsibility for public interests, proponents seek to secure impermeable boundaries around the exclusive private interests of corporations and their wealthiest owners, while demanding that communities eliminate any borders protective of public interests. Recognizing the need of all living entities to protect an
d balance individual and community interests, proponents support both firms and communities in establishing managed protective borders that support, fair, balanced and mutually beneficial exchange.
The Great Turning Page 51