{"title":"Books by Joel Bakan","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9781845291747","title":"The Corporation","description":"\u003cp\u003eNew Edition \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhat would the world be like if its ruling elite was insane? \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe most powerful class of institution on earth, the corporation, is by any reasonable measure hopelessly and unavoidably demented. The corporation lies, steals and kills without remorse and without hesitation when it serves the interests of its shareholders to do so. It obeys the law only when the costs of crime exceed the profits. Corporate social responsibility is impossible except insofar as it is insincere. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAt once a diagnosis and a course of treatment, The Corporation is essential reading for those who want to understand the nature of the modern business system. It is a sober and careful attempt to describe the world as it is, rather than as corporate public relations departments would have us believe it to be. It reveals a world more exotic and more terrifying than any of us could have imagined. And although a billion dollar industry is trying to convince you otherwise, the corporations that surround us are not our friends. Charming and plausible though they are, they can only ever see us as resources to be used. This is the real world, not science fiction, and it really is us or them.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56308254310773,"sku":"9781845291747","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781845291747_1b3302a4-2b9b-4c4b-ad31-7ec321f66120.jpg?v=1786029191"},{"product_id":"9781984899729","title":"The New Corporation","description":"\u003cb\u003eA deeply informed and unflinching look at the way corporations have slyly rebranded themselves as socially conscious entities ready to tackle society's problems, while CEO compensation soars, income inequality is at all-time highs, and democracy sits in a precarious situation.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “A very important book, an arresting study directed to a central issue of the times” (Noam Chomsky), from the author of \u003ci\u003eThe Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOver the last decade and a half, business leaders have been calling for a new kind of capitalism. With income inequality soaring, wages stagnating, and a climate crisis escalating, they realized that they had to make social and environmental values the very core of their messaging. The problem is corporations are still, first and foremost, concerned with their bottom line.\u003cbr\u003e     In lucid and engaging prose, Joel Bakan documents how increasing corporate freedom encroaches on individual liberty and democracy. Through deep research and interviews with both top executives and their sharpest critics, he exposes the inhumanity and destructive force of the current order--profit-driven privatization subverting the public good, governments neglecting duties to protect the environment, the increasing alienation we experience as every aspect of life is economized, and how the Covid-19 pandemic lays bare the unjust fault lines of our corporate-led society.\u003cbr\u003e     Beyond diagnosing major problems, in \u003ci\u003eThe New Corporation\u003c\/i\u003e Bakan narrates a hopeful path forward. He reveals how citizens around the world are fighting back and making gains in ways that bolster democracy and benefit ordinary citizens rather than the corporate elite.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56309991768437,"sku":"9781984899729","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781984899729_f7e9929f-aed4-4979-8bb9-1a2a5b45dbe2.jpg?v=1786032021"},{"product_id":"childhood-under-siege","title":"Childhood Under Siege","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThere is now an estimated 1 trillion dollars of buying power in the hands of children.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTens of millions of children world-wide are prescribed psychotropic drugs today, compared to close to none in 1980.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFood and drink industries spend billions each year marketing junk food to children.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis is the story of how big businesses are transforming our children into obsessive and narcissistic mini-consumers, media addicts and pharmaceutical industry guinea pigs. In this insightful and chilling exploration, Joel Bakan throws a brilliant light on the ruthless manipulation of children and on our failure to protect them.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57466788249973,"sku":"9780099527053","price":15.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780099527053.jpg?v=1785654851"},{"product_id":"just-rights","title":"Just Rights","description":"In \u003cem\u003eJust Rights\u003c\/em\u003e, distinguished legal scholar Joel Bakan argues that our courts are obliged by the Canadian Charter to protect social justice and equality as core democratic and constitutional values, especially as they are increasingly vulnerable to neglect and attack in times of surging right-wing populism and neo-liberal priorities.  \u003cp\u003eCanadian courts have made the claim that \u003cem\u003eCharter\u003c\/em\u003e rights should be interpreted broadly and generously to reflect and reinforce the fundamental rights of the Canadian body politic; however, they typically stop short of meaningfully implementing this crucial ambition. Bakan contends that it is time for courts to move beyond this practice of inaction. \u003cem\u003eJust Rights\u003c\/em\u003e builds upon existing principles of \u003cem\u003eCharter \u003c\/em\u003elaw to demonstrate that Canadian courts can and should recognize how \u003cem\u003eCharter\u003c\/em\u003e rights oblige governments to act positively in aid of fairness and inclusion, and that they further necessitate private actors to respect them.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eUnique in Canadian constitutional scholarship, this book offers a clear framework for judicial protection and promotion of social justice under the \u003cem\u003eCharter\u003c\/em\u003e, with evidence as to how it grows from existing principles, respects real-world limits on judicial power, and confronts the ideological forces of illiberalism and neo-liberalism that threaten equality and democracy today.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57505020510581,"sku":"9781487562267","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781487562267.jpg?v=1788791346"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-joel-bakan.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}