Turning the World Right Side Up : Science, Community and Democracy

The focus of this book is on the un-sustainability of the system that economists, in the name of science, have foisted upon society. Corporations and the economists who act as their apologists, say the authors, are the cultural driving force in contemporary society. They are reductionists: they are locked into a single-minded pursuit of one narrow facet of human well-being. Framing their study within an analysis of contemporary neoliberalism, the authors explore new directions leading to a broad grassroots based democracy. Kerans and Kearney argue that the decline of democracy is rooted in the rule of experts and the domination of scientific reductionism. They seek a new cultural diversity and point out that it is in communities and neighbourhoods at the grassroots where the knowledge for a new world is located. The authors outline an alternative vision for society where people democratically participate in the decision-making and policy formation that affect their lives.