"The Real Wealth of Nations," Riane Eisler's new book, is now available.

[Fridays Child]

Excerpts from the press release (posted with author's permission):

Eisler provides in her book a structure for business leaders and politicians to transform our economic system into one that values human effort and nature and leads to improved levels of health and education among people of all socioeconomic strata, reduced employee turnover and absenteeism, environmental health, and greater productivity for businesses and our country. She provides hard evidence to show that companies with caring policies achieve a higher return on their investment for shareholders. For example, one study showed that offering employees childcare yielded a return on investment of 521 percent in four years.

Eisler, who as a child fled Austria with her family during Nazi occupation, has been on a lifelong quest to probe the human condition, examine the root causes of many of society's challenges, and provide solutions for them. Her other books include the award-winning The Power of Partnership and Tomorrow's Children, Sacred Pleasure, a reexamination of sexuality and spirituality, and Women, Men, and the Global Quality of Life, which documents the key role of the status of women in a nation's general quality of life.

Eisler holds degrees in sociology and law from the University of California, taught pioneering classes on women and the law at UCLA, and is a founding member of the General Evolution Research Group (GERG), a fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science and World Business Academy, and a commissioner of the World Commission on Global Consciousness and Spirituality, along with the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and other spiritual leaders. She is co-founder of the Spiritual Alliance to Stop Intimate Violence (SAIV), www.saiv.net and president of the Center for Partnership Studies, www.partnershipway.org, dedicated to research and education. She is also the author of over 200 essays for both popular and academic publications.

Media Contact: Lisa Elia, Lisa Elia PR Phone: [phone] Fax: [phone] e-mail: [e-mail]

[orwell]

1. Also...

...The Chalice and the Blade.

[Fridays Child]

2. I read that, many years ago, and have a been fan (if that's the right word), ever since.

As Dr. Eisler has pointed out, over recent years, her work has moved from theory to practical application. I think her latest book is probably a reflection of that. It should be interesting.

[Fridays Child]

3. kick

[WinkyDink]

4. Please. It is NEVER going to happen! E.V.E.R.

"...a structure for business leaders and politicians to transform our economic system into one that values human effort and nature and leads to improved levels of health and education among people of all socioeconomic strata...."

[Fridays Child]

6. Everything starts with an idea.

I hear you but look at it this way: when an idea is given life, there exists a spark, however tiny, of hope.

:hug:

[leftofthedial]

5. what employers?

wal mart? wendy's?

outsourcing shows exactly how capitalists feel about workers.

[Fridays Child]

7. I would say that Dr. Eisler is proposing an antidote, of sorts, to capitalism...

...at least, as it is commonly defined. I don't know which employers she documents, in her book, but, obviously, it ain't Walmart or Wendy's.

[Raksha]

8. No, not Wal-Mart and Wendy's.

Employers that don't exist yet, but will in the near future. Not all employers are, or will be, regressives. Everything starts with an idea.

[Fridays Child]

11. ...

:thumbsup: :)

[Selatius]

9. Something tells me this will not be well received on Wall Street.

Shareholders and people on the board of directors have proven time and time again that they are reluctant to make investments that they may not easily comprehend as being valued investments. Your typical bean counter thinks higher wages and health care and safety standards and environmental standards for workers are only so valuable before they start eating into profit margins. Yeah, you don't want sick workers, but at the same time, you also don't want to be fired for sinking too much money into workers when the board and the shareholders want you instead to use that money for their dividends and bonuses.

Treating workers well may lead to long-term viability and long-term gains, but for many investors, they are aiming only at short-term or intermediate-term profits, not long-term sustainability.

This is why Ford and GM concentrated on SUVs in the 1990s. They provided bigger profit margins per vehicle than small, mid-size, or full-size sedans, and the tax code was rewritten to encourage people to buy more SUVs.

We see a classic example here of an insulated corporate culture that failed to realize the value of research and development into their other offerings in their product line and the failure of not realizing long-term sustainability goals. As a result, the workers who hold little decision-making power suffer the brunt of the damage when the oil shock of the 2000s struck. Tens of thousands of autoworkers have now been terminated, and Michigan, by several accounts, is now going through the worst economic downturn since the blackest days of the Great Depression.

[Fridays Child]

10. Yes, you're right.

Popular will, as demonstrated by consumption, has a lot to do with it, too. And marketing drives consumption. We should all kill our TVs, maybe. In the meanwhile, I'll be interested to read about the employers she cites as examples of successful caring economics.