Three books you really should ask Santa for this year Christmas is fast approaching. At this time of year — a time which appears to be increasingly defined by, and obsessed with, disposable consumer goods — there are few things more rewarding than finding in your festive stocking a gift that will have an impact on you long after you’ve put it down (or, even better, after you’ve passed it on to a friend). So just in time for the impending silly season, I have compiled a short list of three fascinating reads that continue to inspire, inform and motivate myself and millions of others the world over. As is the theme of this blog, these books set their sights on some of the big questions we need to be asking in our society today. They provide critical and meticulously researched commentary on the worlds of politics, sustainability and the media: where we are headed, who makes the decisions, how we might bring about change for the better. They may excite you. They may terrify you. They may puzzle you. They may inspire you. Whatever their impact, these are books that everyone should read during their lifetime. I have decided against providing Amazon-esque purchase links. If you are interested in buying a copy of any of these titles, pop into your local book retailer or try enquiring at the second-hand store around the corner first. If all else fails, try Google. So, without further ado.. To the TnT bookshelf. ________________________________________ Prosperity Without Growth, Tim Jackson Originally released in 2009 as a report by the UK’s now-defunct Sustainable Development Commission, Prosperity Without Growth is as much concerned with saving the environment as it is about ensuring we live happily ever after. In fact, according to the book’s author, Tim Jackson, the two are intimately linked. And he isn’t shy about stating the culprit bluntly: “Questioning growth is deemed to be the act of lunatics, idealists and revolutionaries. But question it we must.” He goes on to argue compellingly that continued economic growth is not only impossible on a finite planet, but that it is not benefiting us all that much anyway. Could this be true? The book draws on an abundance of research showing that, above a certain threshold, greater income (which generally means greater material consumption) does not lead to greater happiness in affluent nations. In fact, some studies show that subjective wellbeing has even slightly decreased in some of the most prosperous nations. This leads Jackson to state definitively (and defiantly in the face of mainstream economic wisdom) that ‘prosperity — in any meaningful sense of the word — transcends material concerns.’ At the same time, as a result of humanity’s rampant resource overconsumption, we are rapidly draining the planet’s ability to regenerate itself for the benefit of both current and future generations. But our ability to unlink, or “decouple,” our environmental impacts from economic growth — which is the backbone of so much optimism about the prospects for “green growth” — appears to be nothing but a myth. The numbers simply don’t add up. We are headed for ecological catastrophe no matter how we choose to label our exponentially increasing GDP. So where does that leave us? Jackson lists a plethora of opportunities and challenges we will face in navigating the transition to a more sustainable society. Part economic and political, part infrastructural, part cultural, and part personal, the changes required are as broad as they are deep, and many of them start from the grassroots. High on the list is the need for us to consume less “stuff” and instead focus on accumulating ‘wealth’ in other aspects of our lives: family, friendships, meaningful work, and a personal philosophy that values the now as well as the future. If you want a broad overview of the problem with blindly reciting the mantra that “growth is good,” as well as an in-depth and thoughtful look at how we might turn the tide, Prosperity Without Growth is the place to start. As one reviewer succinctly put it: ‘In terms of a worldview for the new decade and beyond, this could well be the most important book you will read.’ ________________________________________ No Logo, Naomi Klein You know you’ve created something pretty special when Radiohead consider naming an album for it. This is exactly what happened with Naomi Klein’s highly-acclaimed anti-corporate manifesto, No Logo. Yes, Radiohead’s Kid A was at one point going to be named “No Logo” as a testament to the book’s influence on the band members during the album’s production. So what exactly is No Logo’s pique? Well, in short, it is all about branding and the corporations behind it. It is about marketing and the subtle shift the industry has taken from selling products to selling lifestyles. It is about the limiting of choice by the big players, both due to the increasing concentration of corporate ownership and the aggressive tactics these organisations use to undermine their competition. It is about the gradual erosion of worker’s wages, rights and benefits, and the offshoring of production to countries that offer the lowest cost and often the lowest level of labour protections. Klein is not just frustrated at the corporations — McDonald’s, Nike, Shell, The Gap, and Microsoft are some favourites — that enjoy soaring levels of brand recognition while engaging in worker exploitation, environmental pillaging, and hypocrisy of the highest order. She is also frustrated at us for buying into their bullshit. And we should be, too. In fact, lots of people are, and they’re not just sitting back idly. The book serves up its final section as something of a call-to-arms, highlighting some of the biggest players in the growing underground — and not-so-underground — alter-globalisation movement. Adbusters, culture jamming, ‘reclaim the streets’ protests, anti-corporate activism and boycotts of all shapes and sizes are lent a sympathetic ear. No doubt the popularity of this book has helped these worthwhile causes gain significant momentum. But the war is far from won: these corporations are still largely exploiting both our ignorance and our greatest desires with the express goal of turning a buck. Indeed, as national and global economies become increasingly corporatised, No Logo’s message remains just as relevant, powerful and necessary today as when it was first published, 15 years ago. So if you read only one book on consumer culture and counterculture, let it be this one. Postscript: Medium contibutor Jo Chan has suggested I should list This Changes Everything as another must-read from Naomi Klein. While I have not read the book (yet) the following short blurb shows us that, when it comes to challenging existing political-economic structures, she has not lost her touch: Klein exposes the myths that are clouding the climate debate. We have been told the market will save us, when in fact the addiction to profit and growth is digging us in deeper every day. We have been told it’s impossible to get off fossil fuels when in fact we know exactly how to do it — it just requires breaking every rule in the “free-market” playbook: reining in corporate power, rebuilding local economies, and reclaiming our democracies. — thischangeseverything.org ________________________________________ When Media Goes To War, Anthony DiMaggio Twenty-odd years after Herman and Chomsky publishedManufacturing Consent (which has become something of a critical media studies Bible today) Anthony DiMaggio has taken a fresh look at the power and processes behind news production in When Media Goes To War. This meticulously researched exposé is packed with unsettling examples of the media’s twists, turns and censorship of news. DiMaggio uses primarily US news coverage of the wars in Iraq and Iran, and the ever-elusive ‘War on Terror’ as entry points for his analysis. From here he uncovers persuasive evidence to suggest that, far from being a voice for the people and seriously taking the government to account for its indiscretions, the commercial mass media actually work systematically to maintain an undemocratic and oppressive status quo. It seems the media act rather unapologetically to protect the interests of the powerful groups in society, while silencing or marginalising the voices of those unhappy with the dominant agenda; the very opposite of what we might expect from such an important cultural institution. In essence, what the media sell us as news is largely propaganda. The book details a number of reasons for the counterintuitive role that our supposedly “free” media takes on, including journalistic norms and economic pressures. But one that stands out in particular is journalists’ reliance on “official” sources. Indeed, most mainstream news is sourced from government officials. To create the appearance of “objectivity,” these officials come from both “sides” of politics, but this is a telltale sign that the media are hardly independent of elite influence. As the book asks: ‘How can media be “independent” of government propaganda when journalists’ very critiques of war are restricted to those that exist within accepted partisan frameworks?’ But this is not just a problem with war reporting. It is a problem with virtually all mass media news we read. The same sources, the same narrowing of viewpoints, the same silencing of dissent, and same curious absence of the public’s voice. Why should we be worried about this? Well, turns out the media has an enormous influence over public opinion, and a media broadly sympathetic to a particular political leader or policy initiative is quite effective at “manufacturing consent” for their agendas. We are certainly not painted as a passive vessels, following the news like sheep to the slaughter, but there is no doubt that media discourse in many ways shapes public discourse. A propagandising media limits legitimate debate on important issues, and has a strong indoctrinating effect on those who consume it. Such a media is absolutely no friend to a healthy democracy. With the release of this work, DiMaggio has provided a long-overdue defence and update of Herman and Chomsky’s ‘propaganda model’ of the media. He shows that although the “conservative” media regularly bend the truth to serve government agendas, the “liberal” media are far from innocent on this front. We should be very wary of this. While the aftermath of Sydney’s Martin Place siege still splashes over the front pages of Australia’s newspapers, When Media Goes To War provides a timely reminder of the powerful force that is the mass media, how it selectively frames news and events, and how this ultimately shapes the way we understand the world of politics, war and terrorism.
Posted on: Wed, 24 Dec 2014 11:50:34 +0000
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