Author: Ralph Nader
Publisher: Seven Stories Press
Published: 2024-03-12
Total Pages: 0
ISBN-13: 1644212781
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →A inspiring meditation on democracy that explores and separates the concept of a citizen into various roles, providing a clarifying mission to all who read this call to action and civic participation. In this concise volume, Ralph Nader, our trusted voice on corporate power and civic resistance, goes right to the most basic taproots of an aspiring democracy—its people and their roles in creating and sustaining community. These roles, including citizen, voter, worker, taxpayer, consumer, and parent, contribute to civic self-respect, and one's own significance in society. As federal judge Learned Hand said in 1944 during a famous brief speech at Central Park, New York City—neither the laws, the courts or other related institutions can be saved without the underlying exercise of the democratic spirit by the people. Civic Self Respect argues the importantace to recognize the centrality in the development of a civic personality, as distinguished from a private personality with the two co-existing for a moral life participating in the common good. As Nader's mother said when her friends would wonder how she could be raising four children and still have so much time for community engagements: “What's the difference?” One depends on each other—the family and the community. This book argues for how important it is for our educational system to teach the essentials of civic responsibility beyond its occupational or technical emphasis, because the emergence of such a public-minded personality is so essential for understanding the world and shaping civil societies.
Author: Ralph Nader
Publisher: Seven Stories Press
Published: 2000-11-07
Total Pages: 458
ISBN-13: 9781583220573
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Four generations of Americans have come to associate Ralph Nader with the political issues that have defined our age, be it car safety in the 1960s or the anti-WTO demonstrations that recently shut down Seattle. His work has successfully shaped the Left, increased government accountability, made possible new laws, and served as a powerful check against abuses of corporate power. In this landmark collection, the essays that reveal the intellectual, social, and political underpinnings of this legendary citizen advocate are brought together for the first time. In The Ralph Nader Reader, we follow the trajectory of Nader's concerns from 1956 to the present and his personal evolution from consumer advocate to presidential candidate. The result is a monumental book, an invaluable resource for anyone interested in a unique vision of democracy that places citizenship over consumerism, communities over corporations, and public interest over private power.
Author: Ralph Nader
Publisher: Harper Collins
Published: 2009-03-17
Total Pages: 422
ISBN-13: 006174445X
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Straight talk about George W. Bush,corporate government, and the whole charade of presidential campaigning -- from the last honest man in American politics Ralph Nader -- brilliant visionary, relentless activist -- may be the most honest man left in politics. And yet his presidential campaigns have faced consistent opposition -- mainly from Democrats afraid that competition from an inspiring independent could dent their voting block. Now, in The Good Fight, Nader swings back harder than ever at those who "want to block the American people from having more voices and choices" and have lost touch with the concept that votes must be earned, not inherited or entitled. While taking on corporate-occupied Washington and the government's daily abuse of ordinary citizens, he urges a speedy return to stronger civic motivation. If fed-up citizens don't actively join the fight for better leadership, then ultimately we have no one to blame but ourselves for the inadequate checks on the erosion of our civil liberties. In an era when politicians sell us rhetoric and then sell out our principles, Nader stands as a crucial voice of candor. The Good Fight is a stirring response to politics as usual, one that will captivate readers of all political stripes and help us define what we must do to shape the brightest future for our nation.
Author: Ralph Nader
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
Published: 2004-10-12
Total Pages: 56
ISBN-13: 9780060793258
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →When we were youngsters, our father would ask us provocative questions. One day he asked, 'What is the most powerful, event-producing force in the world?' We guessed and guessed. His answer: 'Apathy.' What? 'Yes,' he said, 'apathy, because huge numbers of apathetic citizens, or victims, allow bad guys to create all kinds of problems on the ground -- from dictatorial regimes, to repressed economic conditions, to health and safety hazards, to corruption, to wars and so forth.' Edmund Burke, the British conservative philosopher around the time of our country's revolution, put it another way-- 'All that is necessary for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.'" Thomas Paine's Common Sense galvanized his fellow American colonists into seizing their independence from Britain. Today, as we again face "times that try men's souls," Ralph Nader's call to civic action is as crucial to our country's future as Paine's was in 1776. In Civic Arousal, Nader responds to thoughtful letters written by two young citizens, both frustrated with the political status quo but unsure about their power to affect real change. His insights will inspire every citizen to participate in our democracy and movements for positive change in this country.
Author: Ralph Nader
Publisher: Seven Stories Press
Published: 2024-06-25
Total Pages: 974
ISBN-13: 1644213745
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →A collection of columns and essays that reveal Ralph Nader at his outspoken and prescient best, fighting the good fight against corporate corruption, unbalanced political power, consumer dangers, big pharma, and climate deniers. Features an introduction by Lewis Lapham. This collection is classic Nader—exhorting us to make our world and nation a better place, even when faced with unchecked political and corporate power, and perverse market and regulatory incentives. He starts with the declaration that the national Democratic Party bureaucrats are either inept or bewildered. With its record-setting campaign fundraising, he bemoans how the Party can’t seem to figure out how to go on the offensive against the overtly lying, cruel, corrupt, law-breaking, Wall Street over Main Street, Trumpian Republican Party. In another essay he praises Canada, explaining that the majority of citizens love their health care system—Medicare-for-all, free choice of doctor and hospital , everybody in, nobody out and far less expensive with better outcomes overall. Highlighting heroes like Pete Seeger, Wendell Berry, the journalist Helen Thomas, Nader also celebrates citizens like the lesser-known charismatic George S. Hawkins, general manager of the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority who brought immense energy, vision, and ambitious, overdue plans to the forefront for American’s public drinking water. Meanwhile, he doesn’t shy away from enemies—for example Nader slams the evils of Big Pharma’s strength and hold over Congress and infinite greed. Nader also brings American history to the present day with creative twists. “We need to remember Ben Franklin, our frugal forebear, who coined the phrase ‘a penny saved is a penny earned,’” he writes. “Today he would say ‘a trillion BTUs saved is a trillion BTUs earned.’” Ranging from hernia repair to auto safety reports and warnings about lethal super-bugs and global pandemics from 2013, Nader’s essays and newspaper columns will inform and activate his legions of fans.
Author: Ralph Nader
Publisher: City Lights Publishers
Published: 2016-09-12
Total Pages: 171
ISBN-13: 0872867064
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →"Nader’s assessment of how concentrated wealth and power undermine democracy is clear and compelling, but it’s his substantive vision of how we ought to respond that makes Breaking Through Power essential reading. Written just before Donald Trump’s Electoral College victory, Nader’s latest book reads with even greater urgency now."--Yes Magazine In Breaking Through Power, Ralph Nader draws from a lifetime waging--and often winning--David vs. Goliath battles against big corporations and the United States government. In this succinct, Tom Paine-style wake-up call, the iconic consumer advocate highlights the success stories of fellow Americans who organize change and work together to derail the many ways in which wealth manipulates politics, labor, media, the environment, and the quality of national life today. Nader makes an inspired case about how the nation can--and must--be democratically managed by communities guided by the United States Constitution, not by the dictates of big businesses and the wealthy few. This is classic Ralph Nader, a crystallization of the core political beliefs and commitments that have driven his lifetime of advocacy for greater democracy. "Ralph Nader is the grand progressive of our time. We overlook his words at our own peril! This book is required reading."--Cornel West "Ralph Nader's Breaking Through Power is a brilliant analysis of corporate power and the popular mechanisms that can be used to wrest back our democracy. No one has been fighting corporate domination longer, or understands it better, than Nader, who will go down in history not only as a prophet but an example of what it means to live the moral life. We disregard his wisdom and his courage at our peril."--Chris Hedges, Pulitzer-Prize winner and author of Wages of Rebellion: The Moral Imperative of Revolt "Nader goes beyond delineating the problem and provides a critical prescription to battle the toxicity of unjust power--one that every individual can, and must, embrace."--Nomi Prins, author, All the Presidents' Bankers "People are recognizing that our founding, fundamental values of fairness, justice, and opportunity for all--the very values that define our America--are being shoved aside to create an un-America of plutocracy and autocracy. Ralph Nader's new book Breaking Through Power provides progressive boat-rockers with inspiration and a plan for reclaiming America from the greedy Plutocrats and Fat Cats who think democracy is for sale to the highest bidder."--Jim Hightower "I read Ralph Nader for the same reasons that I read Tom Paine. He knows what he thinks, says what he means, and his courage is a lesson for us all."--Lewis Lapham "Nader insists on speaking up for the little people and backs his arguments and decent sentiments with hard facts."--Publishers Weekly "This book is short, easy to read, and deserves more than five stars. Nader speaks for the average American, and backs up his arguments with facts. This is extremely highly recommended."--Paul Lappen, Midwest Book Review About Ralph Nader: Named by The Atlantic as one of the hundred most influential figures in American history, and by Time and Life magazines as one of the most influential Americans of the twentieth century, Ralph Nader has helped us drive safer cars, eat healthier food, breathe better air, drink cleaner water, and work in safer environments for more than four decades. Nader's recent books include Animal Envy, Unstoppable, The Good Fight, and the bestseller, Seventeen Traditions. Nader writes a syndicated column, has his own radio show, and gives lectures and interviews year round.
Author: Ralph Nader
Publisher: Seven Stories Press
Published: 2011-01-04
Total Pages: 671
ISBN-13: 1609800478
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →"In the cozy den of the large but modest house in Omaha where he has lived since he started on his first billion, Warren Buffett watched the horrors of Hurricane Katrina unfold on television in early September 2005. . . . On the fourth day, he beheld in disbelief the paralysis of local, state, and federal authorities unable to commence basic operations of rescue and sustenance, not just in New Orleans, but in towns and villages all along the Gulf Coast. . . He knew exactly what he had to do. . ." So begins the vivid fictional account by political activist and bestselling author Ralph Nader that answers the question, "What if?" What if a cadre of superrich individuals tried to become a driving force in America to organize and institutionalize the interests of the citizens of this troubled nation? What if some of America's most powerful individuals decided it was time to fix our government and return the power to the people? What if they focused their power on unionizing Wal-Mart? What if a national political party were formed with the sole purpose of advancing clean elections? What if these seventeen superrich individuals decided to galvanize a movement for alternative forms of energy that will effectively clean up the environment? What if together they took on corporate goliaths and Congress to provide the necessities of life and advance the solutions so long left on the shelf by an avaricious oligarchy? What could happen? This extraordinary story, written by the author who knows the most about citizen action, returns us to the literature of American social movements—to Edward Bellamy, to Upton Sinclair, to John Steinbeck, to Stephen Crane—reminding us in the process that changing the body politic of America starts with imagination.
Author: Ralph Nader
Publisher: Seven Stories Press
Published: 2013-05-28
Total Pages: 545
ISBN-13: 1609804759
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →“What sets Ralph Nader apart is that he has moved beyond social criticism to effective political action.” —The New York Times The column is the most natural literary form for a citizen’s advocate, and Ralph Nader may be its most robust and forceful practitioner. The Big Book of Ralph Nader Columns presents a panoramic portrait of the problems confronting our society and provides examples of the many actions an organized citizenry could and should take to create a more just and environmentally sustainable world. Drawing on decades of experience, Nader's columns document the consequences of concentrated corporate power; threats to our food, water and air; the corrosive effect of commercialism on our children; the dismantling of worker rights; and the attacks on our civil rights and civil liberties. Nader also offers concrete suggestions to spark citizen action and achieve social change.
Author: Ralph Nader
Publisher: Seven Stories Press
Published: 2018-08-28
Total Pages: 304
ISBN-13: 1609808487
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →America’s number one citizen Ralph Nader’s latest book shows us how unchecked corporate power has led to the wrecking ball that is the Trump presidency. Nader brings together the outrages of the Trump administration with the key flaws and failures of the previous administrations—both Republican and Democratic—that have led our nation to its current precipice. It’s all in the details and Ralph Nader knows them all. Trump didn’t come out of nowhere. Bush and Obama led the way. Writing as a Washington, DC, activist and people’s advocate for over fifty years―someone who has saved more lives and caused more impactful legislation to be enacted than almost any sitting president or legislator—Nader shows how Trump’s crimes and misdemeanors followed the path of no resistance of the Obama, Bush and Clinton regimes, which ushered in the extreme rise of corporate power and the abandonment of the poor and middle classes.