Suchergebnisse

Political consumerism is turning the market into a site for politics and ethics. It is consumer choice of producers and products on the basis of attitudes and values of personal and family well-being as well as ethical or political assessment of business and government practice. In the face of economic globalization and a regulatory vacuum, consumers increasingly take responsibility in their own hands, making the market an important venue for political action through their decisions of what to purchase. This book opens the readers' eyes to a new way of viewing everyday consumer choices and the role of the market in our lives, illuminating the broader theoretical and historical context of concerns about sweatshops, responsible coffee, and ethical and free trade. Contemporary forms of political consumerism - boycotts, labelling schemes, stewardship certification, socially responsible investing, etc. - are described and evaluated. Individual actions are shown to be important in the complexity of globalization.

Post-modern politics does not follow patterns created by established institutions and the state; such movements create their own ways of accomplishing their aims. Looks at how their 'non-linear' conception of change is radically altering the nature of Swedish politics. (SJK)

POWER AND INFLUENCE ARE CONCEPTS THAT POINT TO THE ESSENCE OF ANY THEORY OF STATE AND CANNOT BE AVOIDED BY POLITICAL SCIENTISTS WHOSE MAIN CONCERN IS TO TRY TO ANSWER THE QUESTION: WHO GOVERNS? APPREHENSION ABOUT EXPLICIT POWER RESEARCH IS, HOWEVER, QUITE UNDERSTANDABLE. THE CONCEPTS ARE DIFFICULT TO RESEARCH EMPIRICALLY. WE HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO AGREE ABOUT WHAT POWER AND INFLUENCE IS (ARE) HOW IT (THEY) SHOULD BE GIVEN OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS OR WHICH METHODS ARE MOST APPROPRIATE IN THE RESEARCH OF WHO GOVERNS. THESE DISAGREEMENTS, FEATURED IN THE AMERICAN DEBATE BETWEEN PLURALISTS AND "POWER ELITISTS" HAVE ALSO AFFECTED HOW RESEARCH IS CONDUCTED IN WESTERN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES INCLUDING THE THREE SCANDINAVIAN COUNTRIES DEALT WITH HERE -- DENMARK, NORWAY AND SWEDEN. IT MAY SEEM STRANGE THAT THE SCANDINAVIAN COUNTRIES ARE ALSO INTERESTED IN POWER RESEARCH. AFTER ALL, THEIR THEORISTS DO NOT POSTULATE OR FIND OPPRESSED GROUPS AS DO BACHRACH AND BARATZ, GAVENTA AND EVEN SCHLOZMAN AND VERBA. BUT THERE ARE GROUP DIFFERENCES IN LEVELS AND EFFECTIVENESS OF POLITICAL BEHAVIOR IN SCANDINAVIA. BESIDES REVEALING SOME OF THESE GROUP DIFFERENCES, THE POWER STUDIES REPORTED ON HERE GIVE NON-SCANDINAVIANS AN IDEA ABOUT THE POLITICAL PHENOMENA OF INTEREST TO SOCIAL SCIENTISTS AND THEIR GOVERNMENTAL SPONSORS. THEY ALSO SHED LIGHT ON HOW POWER AND INFLUENCE ARE CONCEIVED BY SCANDINAVIAN SCHOLARS.