Don’t Rule the World

     It has felt brazen to carry around a new book titled How to Rule the World: The Coming Battle over the Global Economy, but author Mark Engler’s formulation for ruling the world boils down to: Don’t Do It. At least, don’t let the Clintonian neoliberal capitalists rule the world, and don’t let the Bushian imperialists rule it, either. Engler argues there’s a viable and much better alternative: pursue democracy and economic well-being for communities, native populations and working people around the world. And pursue and pursue some more, one has to believe, because we’ll never actually arrive at the destination. 

     Engler’s analysis emphasizes the double assault inflicted on the global trade ethos of the Clinton era by two forces. One was epitomized by the invasion of Iraq, which was a wielding of military power that sharply deviated from the use of economic power by President Clinton and cost the United States many friends. The other blow was a combination of economic collapses and mass protests that exposed the failures, even cruelty, of much of the global economic order. One result, Engler says, is that the International Monetary Fund and related multi-national economic organizations have lost a lot of credibility. At the same time, populists have gained some political and economic power, especially in Latin America. 

     Engler wants his readers to believe that the highly diverse and localized people’s movements around the globe can do more for struggling humanity than the American-led corporate and militarist elites who’ve had their turns at power since the collapse of the Soviet Union. He does make a strong case that movements can successfully resist such outrages as saddling impoverished countries with the debts of their former corrupt rulers. He does not, however, explain how the movements he admires could come together to actually rule the world. But, then, maybe the point is that they’re not supposed to.

– Evan / Business, Science & Technology Dept.

2008 Readers’ Picks Best of…

Don’t forget to vote on your Fort Wayne favorites!  Cast your ballot for your favorite Fort Wayne TV personalities, restaurants, community services and more!  The competition is fierce and you must vote by July 27.  Sponsored by Fort Wayne Newspapers, the 2008 Readers’ Picks Best of… gets my vote for “Most Fun Readers’ Poll in Fort Wayne”.

Training Lessons

After watching a bunch of episodes of Dog Whisperer, I’ve been eating up as much information about how to train animals as I can possibly get. It all starts with Karen Pryor: her book, Don’t Shoot the Dog isn’t so much about training dogs as it is about training any animal (humans included) using the principles of operant conditioning and positive reinforcement. Pryor pioneered these training methods while working with dolphins in the 1960s, and they’ve spread to everything from dogs to llamas, sea lions, and even cats.

I’ve been working with my cat, Basil, to get her to sit quietly to wait for her dinner instead of following me around, yowling in excitement. So far, so good: she actually sits on command. Interested in trying for yourself? Check out Getting Started: Clicker Training for Cats if you want to give it a try.

-Lynn

(dolphin photo by Just Taken Pics on flickr)

Property taxes online

You can search your property tax bill at http://taxpayment.allencounty.us/content/default.aspx.  Simply type in your name or address, and view your current taxes due, property value, exemptions, and assessment.

-Money Money Money by dieselbug2007 on Flickr, licensed by Creative Commons

Got my little book light!

I won this by reading for eight hours in the adult summer reading program, Relax, Renew, Read! I’ve always wanted one of these book lights.  My best friend asked me, “Why don’t you just go buy one?”  Because it’s so much more fun to EARN one!  I’m a busy mom and sometimes reading takes a backseat to all other things I have to do.  So it’s pretty exciting to say I have read several hours.  Have you got yours yet?

Adults age 18 and up can sign up at any Allen County Public Library location until July 25.

Next: book bag!

Melissa, Technology Librarian

Authors we love