Power and Powerlessness

by Susan Rosenthal and George Albert Brown

Book Overview

This book if for people who... Worry about making ends meet Can't find a decent job Struggle with family problems Dread going to work Don't have enough hours in the day Fear for the future Social... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1412056918
• ISBN13: 9781412056915
• Release Date: September 2006
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing
• Length: 237 Pages
• Weight: 1.28 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A Minding Expanding Eye-opener

I read this book as part of a course for helping professionals and educators. I would recommend it as a must read for anyone in these fields, as well as for anyone who's interested in why our culture suffers from so many chronic problems that go unabated despite the good intentions of many and the investment of millions of dollars to overcome them. It isn't a particularly pleasant book to read, as it will likely challenge most readers' beliefs and worldview right to the core. But it is filled with highly compelling documented facts and statistics that make it hard to ignore what those of us in our course already had experienced throughout our lifetimes and still see everyday despite considerable encouragement to overlook or view otherwise. Regardless if the reader agrees with all the conclusions of this book, it is invaluable in challenging us all to look at our own conclusions and most likely to revise them in ways that could make a positive difference in our culture and the lives of many if we choose to apply them.

Now I know that real change IS possible!

Does anyone doubt that our world is in trouble? Lots of books document the barbarism and environmental degradation that are consuming us. It's easy to feel discouraged. But Rosenthal gives me hope. In well-researched example after example, she shows that our problems are the necessary result of capitalism, a system that NO MATTER WHAT puts profit above human needs. This book explains how capitalism has served its purpose of propelling humanity beyond mere subsistence. Now it's time that everyone shared in this prosperity, not just the unchosen few. We human beings created this system, and quite recently at that. We have the imagination and POWER to come up with a better one. Rosenthal's book provides the understanding needed to unleash that power.

Our commonality, our power; A handbook for the planet

I have always attempted to be a problem solver whether at work, in my neighborhood, or at home. However, I was often frustrated, exhausted, and disappointed with the results of my efforts. After reading Power And Powerlessness I am able to negotiate complicated situations and I am able to effect good outcomes. Rosenthal has the ability to distil the political, economic, and historical threads that have created our world's social order. Power And Powerlessness illuminates the reason for the uphill struggles people on every continent find themselves in.

Power and Powerlessness is a courageous book that challenges what is possible.

In Power and Powerlessness, Dr. Susan Rosenthal expertly marries medicine, psychology, history and politics to explain why "Social power is necessary for human health." Rosenthal believes that most people lack the healthy, fulfilling lives they deserve because they are kept powerless and mistakenly accept this state of affairs as natural or self-inflicted. POWER and Powerlessness asks four basic questions: What's going on? How did this happen? Why do we put up with it? What will it take? Sixteen powerful chapters provide the answers. Using plain language, the author examines pressing social problems including family stress, inequality, environmental crisis and war, but she is not pessimistic. On the contrary, she insists that human beings are capable of solving their problems. This book offers hope for the future, explaining: * Why human health depends on strong social bonds. * Eight ways that capitalism disrupts social bonds and makes people sick. * How disrupted social bonds form the link between individual and social problems. * How the medical system manages misery instead of ending it. * How to create connections that heal. Many books will tell you what's wrong with the world and what needs to be done. This book explains why we haven't already done it. Original and well researched, yet surprisingly easy to read, Power and Powerlessness is a book for everyone who wants a better world. About the Author Susan Rosenthal has been practicing medicine for more than 30 years and has written many articles on the relationship between health and social relationships. She is also the author of Market Madness and Mental Illness (1999).

Power and Powerlessness

An excellent book which really makes you think about how power is used in organisations, in everyday life and in capitalist societies. Well researched and challenging - especially to those who see capitalism as a really effective way to manage our society. BW