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Virginia Postrel smashes conventional political boundaries in this libertarian manifesto. World-views should be defined not by how they view the present, she says, but the future. Do they aim to control it, as many conservative reactionaries and liberal planners want to do? Or do they embrace it, even though they can't know what lies ahead? Postrel (editor of Reason magazine) firmly places herself in this latter category--the dynamists, she calls her happy tribe--and urges the rest of us to sign up. The future of economic prosperity, technological progress, and cultural innovation depends upon embracing principles of choice and competition. The downside of this philosophy, Postrel readily notes, is that it doesn't allow us to manage tomorrow by acting today. And that's exactly the point: we shouldn't want to. A future constructed by an infinite number of individual decisions, made privately, is one she believes we should encourage. The Future and Its Enemies is at once intellectually sweeping and reader-friendly; it has the potential to join a pantheon of books about freedom that includes works by Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman. --John J. Miller
Book Description
Today we have greater wealth, health, opportunity, and choice than at any time in history. Yet a chorus of intellectuals and politicians laments our current condition -- as slaves to technology, coarsened by popular culture, and insecure in the face of economic change. The future, they tell us, is dangerously out of control, and unless we precisely govern the forces of change, we risk disaster.
In The Future and Its Enemies, Virginia Postrel explodes the myths behind these claims. Using examples that range from medicine to fashion, she explores how progress truly occurs and demonstrates that human betterment depends not on conformity to one central vision but on creativity and decentralized, open-ended trial and error. She argues that these two opposing world-views -- "stasis" vs. "dynamism" -- are replacing "left" and "right" to define our cultural and political debate as we enter the next century.
In this bold exploration of how civilizations learn, Postrel heralds a fundamental shift in the way we view politics, culture, technology, and society as we face an unknown -- and invigorating -- future.
Customer Reviews:
Benevolence of free actors can't be taken for granted.......2007-02-11
Postrel's future strikes me as naive and idealistic. Unleashing the creative animus of billions of free actors? OK, but history teaches over and over that humans are not predisposed to always act charitably to each other. Laws, customs, and regulations are there to protect your rights and property from being diminished by malice or careless neglect on the part of others. Current events serve as stark reminders of how civil order rests on a flimsy foundation....the looting of Baghdad immediately upon the collapse of authority, and the inability to restore public safety ever since. The inability of law enforcement to gain the upper hand over international narco-gangs and terrorist groups. The rapid exploitation of internet anonymity by pornographers, scam artists and identity theives. The insidious pollution of our life support systems with hundreds of thousands of industrial chemicals. The impending collapse of ocean fisheries. The culprits in all these cases are clever people acting on their creative urges, adapting quickly to new technology, and embracing a future brimming with new possibilities. That isn't to say that a larger body of change agents will act benevolently or benignly in their impacts. The problem is, it's taking fewer rotten apples to spoil the barrel. As Bill Joy has pointed out, our vulnerabilities are growing exponentially. While I am a fan of progress, and a willing participant, if we don't come to a concensus about which aspects of our way of life must be safeguarded and handed off intact to posterity, then at the hands of a billion busy hands pursuing lesser purposes, the odds are overwhelming that we will undermine the future. You can't equate progress simply with loosening the reigns on individual initiative, even in a world of saints, because too many things can go wrong unintentionally.
But I applaud the author for asking people to think about the future, and how best to make it a good one.
Very dry and boring.......2007-01-12
If you need something to put you to sleep read a couple of pages just before bed time.
Deserves to be declared a Classic.......2006-12-16
This book is brilliant. I also believe it is a very important book that needs to be read by many thinking people. It highlights the importance of creativity, diversity, flexibility and the value of choice to our lives, our standards of living and progress in all of its forms.
It describes in colourful details, several important concepts - we cannot know enough about the future to predict it accurately, to do detailed plans for it, to control it. We cannot know precisely what products will sell or what book or movie will prove popular. The world is far too complex. Billions of individuals are making billions of decisions all of the time and this complexity cannot even be analyzed sufficiently well, let alone controlled and guided.
This book describes and gives interesting and convincing examples of how change and creativity run together. Dynamism is put forward as social/cultural/economic evolution. The beauty and power of Darwinian evolution is closely paralleled in the free market and in the idea and application of thought and effort into a very diverse range of fields: science, the arts (the creation of new art works and new art forms), engineering, marketing, medicine and so on.
It does not state a need to throw out all rules, standards and structures are unreasonable. One of the central ideas the book describes is where a simple set of rules can give rise to great diversity and complexity. A simple set of rules (as opposed to complete chaos) allows business or technological innovation to get a start while still allowing it maximum freedom to grow and evolve.
It describes how apparent chaos can give rise to more expansive forms of order, to "emergent solutions" to everyday problems.
I have to disagree with a previous reviewer. He states that the book is composed of individual essays that are "loosely connected". On the contrary, I would say they tie together very well. Collectively they describe how Dynamism can be applied to different aspects of our social, economic and political lives.
This book gives some much needed criticism of assumptions and philosophical/political stances that are very harmful to progress and society overall:
It's an effective counter to that ridiculous "Precautionary Principle".
It's an effective counter to the institutionalization of education, scientific research - basically all the important things.
It's an effective counter to that insidious desire by many to control other people - control what they think, do or say. As an adjunct to that, it's an effective counter to the idea that centralized control produces better outcomes than an uncontrolled, diverse and individualistic approach.
I highly recommend this book. Get it along with `Market for Liberty' and `Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal'.
Sharp insight from Virginia Postrel.......2006-05-11
I consider myself an optimist and insightful person, but somehow managed to miss many of Postrel's insights. She gives me even more hope that the future is going to be more wonderful than I previously thought. She does keep that hope in check, though, by talking about the enemies of the future- primarily protectionists and those that see free trade as a threat, instead of the blessing that it is.
She thoroughly destroys the notion that 'there is nothing new under that sun'. While the universe, therefore our earth, is necessarily finite, we misunderstand this finiteness because we misunderstand the different combinations things can be arranged in. For example, a deck of cards has only 52 cards, but the number of combinations you can put the cards into is 52x51x50x49x...x3x2x1, which is a number larger than the number of particles in the universe! So whenever you shuffle a deck of cards, you can rest assured, that that is probably the one and only time that arrangement of cards will ever be in existence... ever.
People are so inventive and creative and always looking for new things. Obviously, there will always be new things. Every time someone declares that we are nearing the end of history, science, technology, etc. it's safe to say they have no idea what they are talking about. We need to let people be as creative and as inventive as they can. It will only make our lives better, on the whole. There will always be setbacks, but as long as people can think, we will always find a way to make out of those setbacks.
The book is a stunning, intelligent look at modern life. I liked it so much, I bought The Substance of Style, which is, yet, another insightful look at modern life.
Why care about the future?.......2005-11-28
Postrel forces you to think explicitly about the future. I have 10 children. Thus I have more invested in the future than most people. The future my children and grandchildren inherit and create be mostly shaped by people with dynamist views. After all, it is the dynamists who created civilization. To be sure, history is full of examples where the forces of stasis won over the dynamists, sometimes for centuries. However, I think the future is with the dynamists. I'm betting this book will be considered a seminal classic 100 years from now.
Book Description
Spiritlinking, the author's original term, refers to a new way of interacting with others. Emphasizing relationships, spiritlinking affirms each individual as an expression of the energy, wisdom, spirit and culture of the group. The results of this dynamic new approach to leadership are many. Spiritlinking helps foster new ideas and service, greater productivity, a more harmonious sense of community, a way to work through resistance to change, and a deeper sense of meaning in one's work. Integrating spirituality, psychology, and extensive leadership experience, these strategies help leaders at all levels of all kinds of organizations. This important book identifies the symptoms of resistance to change, tells how to bridge factions and promote community, shows how to provide healthy leadership--and reveals how to keep it healthy. Examples, charts, practical information, and probing questions help apply the strategies to one's own situation. Of far-reaching applicability, this is concrete help for leaders in any situation--from secular businesses to churches, synagogues, and religious orders. Schools, healthcare facilities, and other organizations can be revitalized by the book. It's also useful for small-group leaders, youth ministers, and chaplains.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Discussion-Starter.......2003-12-26
This book has enabled us to have some quality conversations with our senior management teams without resulting in contentious interchanges. We have been able to analyze some of the factors that have caused us to resist necessary changes in our business operations. Additionally, our Board of Directors has utilized the processes outlined in Spiritlinking to assist in working through resistances to transformative change. The book is clearly written without use of jargon.
Leadership for growth.......2001-07-04
In Spiritlinking Leadership, Donna Markham presents a means by which leaders in various organizational settings, profits and non-profits alike, can identify the causes and behaviors associated with organizational change. By doing so, the leader can then begin to work toward building the community of persons within the organization by recognizing and linking together strengths and weaknesses. A Spiritlinking Leader is one who builds on the strengths, assists with the weaknesses and encourages the growth of the individuals for the betterment not only of the organization but also the community worldwide. I have used this text on several occasions with students in a leadership program who have all had positive reactions to it.
Book Description
Benson's COMPLETE is designed for a 2-semester A&P course. In addition to the dozens of effective exercises, this lab manual is unique in that students are asked to label many of the figures to reinforce concepts. The cat is the primary dissection specimen in this manual. It is self-contained, detailed, and very logical in its approach. Because of its detailed content (textual material, line art, photos, and histology micrographs), it is generally not necessary to take the course textbook to the lab. The atlas of quality histology micrographs has always been a strong feature and makes it unnecessary to purchase an additional histology atlas.
Customer Reviews:
Thorough book and very descriptive.......2002-01-24
I had to use this book for a college class I was taking (Anatomy
and Physiology) and I was surprised by the great detail and thoroughness of this book. I was highly impressed!
This lab book contains many different exercises to help you comprehend some of the difficult strutures and functions of the body.
A must for all those taking A&P in college!
Customer Reviews:
Good .......2007-03-09
This book was exactly how it was described. It was delivered on time and is in great condition.
An Excellent General Reference.......2005-10-06
This was not exactly what I expected, but I was not disappointed in the material. The title says "Dissection" so I expected a descriptive anatomical analysis side-by-side a how-to-dissect manual. Although there is a page describing [roughly] how you should go about dissections, I believe the term dissection used in the title was more of a descriptive term for analysis. Overall, this was a good general reference to the inner strucrures of the anatomy of rats, but if you are looking for a how-to-dissect guide I suggest purchasing something different. However, this would make an excellent companion (for reference purposes) to the how-to guide you decide to go with.
Book Description
This laboratory manual is ideal for introductory, two-semester anatomy and physiology students. This new edition works well with any textbook and includes complete explanations of essential information. Clear, step-by-step procedures for each exercise are accompanied by detailed illustrations and labeling exercises. The main dissection specimen is the cat.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Lab Book for new Nursing Student.......2006-06-15
Step-by-step guide to all things anatomy. Fantastic illustrations!
Book Description
This laboratory manual is ideal for introductory, two-semester anatomy and physiology students. This new edition works well with any textbook and includes complete explanations of essential information. Clear, step-by-step procedures for each exercise are accompanied by detailed illustrations and labeling exercises. The main dissection specimen is the fetal pig.
Average customer rating:
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Circulatory System: from Anatomy and Dissection of the Rat 3e
Warren F. Walker , and
Dominique G. Homberger
Manufacturer: W. H. Freeman
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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A dissection guide in color: The rat (and the sheep's brain)
Darwin R Thorpe
Manufacturer: National Press Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
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ASIN: B0007E3VU0 |
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This stand-alone manual, featuring complete explanations of essential information, is ideal for the one-semester, introductory human anatomy course. The main dissection specimen is the cat, with additional exercises for the cow, rat, and sheep organs.
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