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'One of the world's most prominent radical scientists.' - The Guardian 'Shiva is a burst of creative energy, an intellectual power.' - The Progressive 'A leading thinker who has eloquently blended her views on the environment, agriculture, spirituality, and women's rights into a powerful philosophy.' - Utne Reader
Product Description
This book is Vandana Shiva's most extensive treatment of the struggles, she has helped bring to international attention in genetic food engineering, cultural theft, and natural resource privatisation. She uncovers their links to the rising tide of fundamentalisms, violence against women, and the environmental death of the planet. Starting in the 16th century with the enclosure of the British commons, she illustrates how the commons continue to shrink, as more natural resources are patented and privatised. As our ecological sustainability and cultural diversity erode, human life is rendered disposable and economic and social exclusion ignite violence. Yet these are not the only trend shaping human history. Popular struggles have yielded a set of principles and ideals, which Shiva calls 'earth democracy', and which lay the basis for a peaceful, just and sustainable future.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Shiva is a kind of Mama Kali, defending her village farmers and their environments with cool resolve or fact-spitting outrage. Coming off a series of victories over corporate bio-pirates, she shares the state of struggle for the local nature-workers of India to manage their future. Here are a few of her lines:
"What has been called the tragedy of the commons is, in fact, the tragedy of privatization." (p. 55)
"The enclosure of biodiversity and knowledge is the latest step in a series of enclosures that began with the rise of colonialism. Land and forests were the first resources to be enclosed and converted from commons to commodities. Later, water resources were enclosed through dams, groundwater mining, and privatization schemes. Now it is the turn of biodiversity and knowledge to be "enclosed" through intellectual property rights (IPRs)." (p. 39)
[In the Navdanya movement] "More than 200,000 farmers are working to enrich the earth, create properity for rural producers, and provide quality food to consumers. ... [Their work] reintroduces biodiverse farming to both replace chemicals as fertilizers and pesticides and to increase the productivity and nutritional value of crops. ... Navdanya farmers are able to reduce their expenses by the 90 percent that was used to buy chemicals and create corporate profits. ... The incomes of Navdanya farmers are three times higher than the incomes of chemical farmers..." (pp. 67-68)
"Ecological security is our most basic security; ecological identities are our most fundamental identity. We ARE the food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe. And reclaiming democratic control over our food and water and our ecological survival is the necessary project for our freedom." (p. 5)
"What has been called the tragedy of the commons is, in fact, the tragedy of privatization." (p. 55)
"The enclosure of biodiversity and knowledge is the latest step in a series of enclosures that began with the rise of colonialism. Land and forests were the first resources to be enclosed and converted from commons to commodities. Later, water resources were enclosed through dams, groundwater mining, and privatization schemes. Now it is the turn of biodiversity and knowledge to be "enclosed" through intellectual property rights (IPRs)." (p. 39)
[In the Navdanya movement] "More than 200,000 farmers are working to enrich the earth, create properity for rural producers, and provide quality food to consumers. ... [Their work] reintroduces biodiverse farming to both replace chemicals as fertilizers and pesticides and to increase the productivity and nutritional value of crops. ... Navdanya farmers are able to reduce their expenses by the 90 percent that was used to buy chemicals and create corporate profits. ... The incomes of Navdanya farmers are three times higher than the incomes of chemical farmers..." (pp. 67-68)
"Ecological security is our most basic security; ecological identities are our most fundamental identity. We ARE the food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe. And reclaiming democratic control over our food and water and our ecological survival is the necessary project for our freedom." (p. 5)
1 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The book by Shiva is certainly a great book, however amazon sent me another edition than the one in the picture. I emailed them and said I specifically want the edition shown in the picture (and not the cheap one they sent) and they sent a replacement which was again the wrong one. Finally they admitted they probably don't have the one in the picture and gave me my money back. I'm very disappointed to see that they still have the same picture though, because trust me, the edition you'll get is not worth the money.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
10 reviews
37 of 37 people found the following review helpful
A more peaceful and secure future
4 Mar 2006
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
"Earth Democracy" by Vandana Shiva offers both a masterful critique of globalization and a hopeful vision for a better world. Ms. Shiva compares and contrasts top-down systems of authoritarianism and exclusion with bottom-up systems of egalitarianism and mutual cooperation to discuss how corporate power is proving to be a grave threat to democracy and the long-term viability of the planet. Ms. Shiva contends that a mutually-supportive network of empowered local communities might be able to create a global society that is based on humanitarian principles of peace, compassion and solidarity.
Ms. Shiva has long been highly regarded as an activist and scholar. She has authored many books and is a frequent media commentator. "Earth Democracy" serves to further Ms. Shiva's stature as a leading intellectual who continues to eloquently voice the concerns of the poor. Her unique ability to blend science, history, politics, economics, gender issues and other fields of study into her text is impressive. The result is a book that rewards its readers with many pages of thought-provoking insight and analysis.
Ms. Shiva points out that two thirds of humanity owes its livelihood to a sustenance economy that finds itself under increasing pressure from capital. She finds similarities in the earlier eras of enclosure and colonialism with today's struggle over intellectual property rights and patents, where the powerful use the law to privatize resources for profit. Arguing that overconsumption by the wealthy is the root cause of environmental destruction and human injustice, Ms. Shiva makes a compelling case for granting local communities more control over resources so that alternative, sustainable economies can be nurtured.
Ms. Shiva brilliantly connects the insecurity wrought by globalization with the "ideologies of exclusion" and "cultural nationalism" that fuels war and terrorism. As state power largely serves to protect corporate interests, the economically uprooted and excluded masses seek identity through nationalist conflict and sometimes prove vulnerable to manipulation by religious extremists. On the other hand, Ms. Shiva cites the Indian farmer's struggles over seed and water rights as examples of how people might come together in a positive way to reclaim a more peaceful and secure future.
Ms. Shiva reminds us that Mahatma Gandhi proved how small acts of resistance can hasten the end of empire. She believes that a multiplicity of movements such as Terra Madre that are struggling for food security, the environment, democracy and human rights will help us break free from the self-destructive path that has been prescribed for us by the corporate elite.
I highly recommend this important and inspiring book to everyone.
Ms. Shiva has long been highly regarded as an activist and scholar. She has authored many books and is a frequent media commentator. "Earth Democracy" serves to further Ms. Shiva's stature as a leading intellectual who continues to eloquently voice the concerns of the poor. Her unique ability to blend science, history, politics, economics, gender issues and other fields of study into her text is impressive. The result is a book that rewards its readers with many pages of thought-provoking insight and analysis.
Ms. Shiva points out that two thirds of humanity owes its livelihood to a sustenance economy that finds itself under increasing pressure from capital. She finds similarities in the earlier eras of enclosure and colonialism with today's struggle over intellectual property rights and patents, where the powerful use the law to privatize resources for profit. Arguing that overconsumption by the wealthy is the root cause of environmental destruction and human injustice, Ms. Shiva makes a compelling case for granting local communities more control over resources so that alternative, sustainable economies can be nurtured.
Ms. Shiva brilliantly connects the insecurity wrought by globalization with the "ideologies of exclusion" and "cultural nationalism" that fuels war and terrorism. As state power largely serves to protect corporate interests, the economically uprooted and excluded masses seek identity through nationalist conflict and sometimes prove vulnerable to manipulation by religious extremists. On the other hand, Ms. Shiva cites the Indian farmer's struggles over seed and water rights as examples of how people might come together in a positive way to reclaim a more peaceful and secure future.
Ms. Shiva reminds us that Mahatma Gandhi proved how small acts of resistance can hasten the end of empire. She believes that a multiplicity of movements such as Terra Madre that are struggling for food security, the environment, democracy and human rights will help us break free from the self-destructive path that has been prescribed for us by the corporate elite.
I highly recommend this important and inspiring book to everyone.
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
perhaps the world's finest eco-warrior
4 Dec 2006
Format:Paperback
Shiva is a kind of Mama Kali, defending her village farmers and their environments with cool resolve or fact-spitting outrage. Coming off a series of victories over corporate bio-pirates, she shares the state of struggle for the local nature-workers of India to manage their future. Here are a few of her lines:
"What has been called the tragedy of the commons is, in fact, the tragedy of privatization." (p. 55)
"The enclosure of biodiversity and knowledge is the latest step in a series of enclosures that began with the rise of colonialism. Land and forests were the first resources to be enclosed and converted from commons to commodities. Later, water resources were enclosed through dams, groundwater mining, and privatization schemes. Now it is the turn of biodiversity and knowledge to be "enclosed" through intellectual property rights (IPRs)." (p. 39)
[In the Navdanya movement] "More than 200,000 farmers are working to enrich the earth, create properity for rural producers, and provide quality food to consumers. ... [Their work] reintroduces biodiverse farming to both replace chemicals as fertilizers and pesticides and to increase the productivity and nutritional value of crops. ... Navdanya farmers are able to reduce their expenses by the 90 percent that was used to buy chemicals and create corporate profits. ... The incomes of Navdanya farmers are three times higher than the incomes of chemical farmers..." (pp. 67-68)
"Ecological security is our most basic security; ecological identities are our most fundamental identity. We ARE the food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe. And reclaiming democratic control over our food and water and our ecological survival is the necessary project for our freedom." (p. 5)
--author of The Gardens of Their Dreams: Desertification and Culture in World History
"What has been called the tragedy of the commons is, in fact, the tragedy of privatization." (p. 55)
"The enclosure of biodiversity and knowledge is the latest step in a series of enclosures that began with the rise of colonialism. Land and forests were the first resources to be enclosed and converted from commons to commodities. Later, water resources were enclosed through dams, groundwater mining, and privatization schemes. Now it is the turn of biodiversity and knowledge to be "enclosed" through intellectual property rights (IPRs)." (p. 39)
[In the Navdanya movement] "More than 200,000 farmers are working to enrich the earth, create properity for rural producers, and provide quality food to consumers. ... [Their work] reintroduces biodiverse farming to both replace chemicals as fertilizers and pesticides and to increase the productivity and nutritional value of crops. ... Navdanya farmers are able to reduce their expenses by the 90 percent that was used to buy chemicals and create corporate profits. ... The incomes of Navdanya farmers are three times higher than the incomes of chemical farmers..." (pp. 67-68)
"Ecological security is our most basic security; ecological identities are our most fundamental identity. We ARE the food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe. And reclaiming democratic control over our food and water and our ecological survival is the necessary project for our freedom." (p. 5)
--author of The Gardens of Their Dreams: Desertification and Culture in World History
12 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Organic food is a human right!
19 Oct 2006
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
In "Earth Democracy", Indian ecofeminist Vandana Shiva powerfully defends the rights of Third World farmers against agribusiness monopolies, biotechnology and international financial institutions like the WTO, World Bank and IMF. In a brilliant deconstruction of capitalist patriarchy, Shiva explains how market fundamentalism breeds religious fundamentalism and explores the many ways that corporate globalization negatively impacts the lives of low-income women around the world. Importantly, Shiva explains how the colonization of DNA by multinational corporations is an extension of the colonization of Asia, Africa and the Americas by an imperialist male white elite. Outlining how the preservation of seed, water and sustainable food systems are a prerequisite for peace and real security, "Earth Democracy" is a timely and informative read for global justice activists interested in alleviating world hunger, healing the environment and creating peace.
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