In common with many people Margaret Legum is outraged by the effects of the current global economic system. Those effects are particularly dire in Africa and almost as devastating on other continents. Appalling poverty exists alongside unbelievable wealth and potential plenty for everyone; the planet upon which our survival depends is being degraded; and crime, conflict and suffering are rampant. The question is: can it be changed? The author, a well-known economist and writer who in 1962 was banned from her home country of South Africa for her outspoken political views, attempts in this book to put forward a new way: an economic system built up around ordinary, decent human values, where the health of families and communities, and the environment they live in, is at the top of the list of priorities. It is an approach that starts with the sanctity of individual human life and leads to a lot of surprising conclusions that run totally counter to current economic practice.
ISBN: 9781901557763 (2003) 120pp