Other books that might interest you

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  The European Union Explained -...

  Andreas Staab

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  “An informative, well-paced, and clearly articulated narrative of the European Union’s development” (Jennifer Yoder, Colby College). 
   
  This brief and accessible introduction to the European Union is ideal for anyone who needs a concise overview of the structure, history, and policies of the EU. This updated edition includes a new chapter on the sovereign debt crisis in the Eurozone. Andreas Staab offers basic terms and interpretive frameworks for understanding the evolution of the EU; the overall structure, purpose, and mandate of its main constituent divisions; and key policy areas, such as market unification and environmental policy. 
   
  “Readers in America and Europe alike will benefit from the very considerable expertise revealed in these pages.” —Hugh Dykes, House of Lords, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson on the European Union 
   
  “A fine introduction to the European Union and will appeal to a range of collections, from political science and business holdings to college-level collections strong in the media.” —Midwest Book Review

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  Whose Freedom? - The Battle over...

  George Lakoff

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  Since September 11, 2001, the Bush administration has relentlessly invoked the word "freedom." The United States can strike preemptively because "freedom is on the march." Social security should be privatized in order to protect individual freedoms. In the 2005 presidential inaugural speech, the words "freedom," "free," and "liberty" were used forty-nine times."Freedom" is one of the most contested words in American political discourse, the keystone to the domestic and foreign policy battles that are racking this polarized nation. For many Democrats, it seems that President Bush's use of the word is meaningless and contradictory—deployed opportunistically to justify American military action abroad and the curtailing of civil liberties at home. But in Whose Freedom?, George Lakoff, an adviser to the Democratic party, shows that in fact the right has effected a devastatingly coherent and ideological redefinition of freedom. The conservative revolution has remade freedom in its own image and deployed it as a central weapon on the front lines of everything from the war on terror to the battles over religion in the classroom and abortion. In a deep and alarming analysis, Lakoff explains the mechanisms behind this hijacking of our most cherished political idea—and shows how progressives have not only failed to counter the right-wing attack on freedom but have failed to recognize its nature. Whose Freedom? argues forcefully what progressives must do to take back ground in this high-stakes war over the most central idea in American life.

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  Harry's Last Stand - How the...

  Harry Leslie Smith

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  'A kind of epic poem, one that moves in circular fashion from passionate denunciation to intense autobiographical reflection ... should be required reading for every MP, peer, councillor, civil servant and commentator. The fury and sense of powerlessness that so many people feel at government policy beam out of every page.' The Guardian
  'It is not enough to read Harry's record of the struggles and hopes of a generation – we have to re-assert his principles of common ownership and the welfare state. If Harry can do it, we should too!' Ken Loach, Director of I, Daniel Blake
  
  'As one of the last remaining survivors of the Great Depression and the Second World War, I will not go gently into that good night. I want to tell you what the world looks like through my eyes, so that you can help change it…'
  
   
  
  In November 2013, 91-year-old Yorkshireman, RAF veteran and ex-carpet salesman Harry Leslie Smith's Guardian article – 'This year, I will wear a poppy for the last time' – was shared over 80,000 times on Facebook and started a huge debate about the state of society.
  
  Now he brings his unique perspective to bear on NHS cutbacks, benefits policy, political corruption, food poverty, the cost of education – and much more. 
  
  From the deprivation of 1930s Barnsley and the terror of war to the creation of our welfare state, Harry has experienced how a great civilisation can rise from the rubble. But at the end of his life, he fears how easily it is being eroded.
  
   
  Harry's Last Stand is a lyrical, searing modern invective that shows what the past can teach us, and how the future is ours for the taking.
  'Smith's unwavering will to turn things around makes for inspirational reading.' Big Issue North
  '[With] sheer emotional power ... Harry Leslie Smith reminds us what society without good public services actually looks and feels like.' New Statesman

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  US Politics in an Age of...

  Sharon Smith, Charlie Post, Kim...

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  “This collection contains everything we need to understand the world that gave us Trump, and to arm ourselves for the battles to come” (Sarah Jaffe, author of Necessary Trouble: Americans in Revolt).   The Democratic Party and mainstream liberal organizations have shown themselves to be completely inadequate to address the key questions facing working people today. The corporate-friendly wing of the party, especially in the aftermath of the Great Recession in 2008, has created conditions that led to the Trump phenomenon in the international context of rising right-wing populism.   These essays from a wide variety of thinkers delve into topics of economic inequality and exploitation, gender and cultural identity, and how the neglect of the working class by establishment politicians has had consequences that urgently need to be addressed.

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  Socialized Medicine

  Ronald Reagan

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  In 1961 Reagan spoke out against socialized medicine. Since 1965 when Medicare and Medicaid were enacted, the federal government controls payment for most U.S. healthcare: hospitals, drugs, doctors, nurses, and so on. Has this been a blessing or a curse? 
  Milton Friedman, the small, talkative, smiling genius, perhaps the best economist ever, argued that governments should give the deserving needy money to buy education, housing, and healthcare, but should never give goods or services such as govenment schools, government housing, or medical services. 
  Would this small change make a big difference? Prior to 1965, U.S. health insurance was medically underwritten. When a person applied for insurance, they were weighed and tested to see how healthy they were. If they were unhealthy, premiums were high, and coverage limited. 
  The result was that people had powerful financial incentives to adopt a healthy diet and lifestyle. Under Medicare, Medicaid, and Obamacare, medical underwriting is illegal and the financial incentive for a healthy diet is eliminated. Epidemics of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and chronic disease since 1965 are the result. And the cost of medical services without market competition has exploded. 
  If the elderly and needy were paid in cash rather than medical services, and purchased medical services in competitive, risk-based markets, people would have strong incentive to adopt fiber-based diets of vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, and whole grains, and avoid animal foods and low-fiber processed foods that promote chronic disease. 
  The left blames the food industry for our poor diet, but the federal government’s control of medical services and abolition of medical underwriting are the true causes of the obesity and diabetes crisis that afflicts America, and the reason healthcare is so amazingly expensive. Competitive markets would benefit the elderly, the needy, and the country. 
  AspenLeafMedia.com

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  Seat by Seat - The Political...

  Iain Dale

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  The 2015 general election is almost upon us, but the question on everyone's mind is also the one that no one seems to be able to answer: What's the result going to be? While political commentators all nervously agree it will be 'one to remember', the truth is that this is the most unpredictable election in recent memory. For the first time in British political history we are now in five-party politics, national swingometers are a thing of the past and opinion polls have been rendered almost irrelevant. Despite the challenges involved, however, political pundit Iain Dale has used recent polling, statistics and his famously sharp instinct to predict the result in each and every one of the UK's 650 constituencies. And if his predictions are anywhere near correct, Britain is on the verge of months, perhaps years of political uncertainty and upheaval. But will he be proven right? Only time will tell...

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