Paradigm Wars: Indigenous Peoples' Resistance to Globalization

by Victoria Tauli-Corpuz (Editor), Jerry Mander

Best-selling author and cultural critic Jerry Mander has challenged dominant cultural mind-sets in books such as Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television and In the Absence of the Sacred. In Paradigm Wars, he and coeditor Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, a leader of the global indigenous peoples movement and chair of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, have gathered an impressive international roster of contributors to document the momentous collision of worldviews that pits the forces of economic globalization against the Earth’s surviving indigenous peoples.
Many of the planet’s dwindling resources are located on lands inhabited by native communities. Those resources are now the direct target of giant global corporations who desperately need them to fuel their own unsustainable growth. The World Trade Organization and other global structures of trade and finance have written the rules of trade to make life easier for these corporate resource-hunters—accelerating the loss of native lands, autonomy, and rights, and creating millions of refugees.
Paradigm Wars comprehensively illuminates this shameful scenario in firsthand reports that detail its devastating impacts. The book also highlights how indigenous communities are strongly resisting the onslaught, often with amazing and inspiring success.

Genres: Indigenous, Politics, Sociology, Nonfiction, Economics, History

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Aimee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome! I highly recommend it for anyone interested in environmental, globalization and/or international Indigenous issues.

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly recommended. Inspiring! Anything with Jerry Mander involved should be great. This book points out the too many backward, often horrendous consequences of so called "neo-liberalism", policies enforced by the WTO and world bank, upon thee Indigenous peoples all over the world, and the rest of humanity for that matter. We do only have one Mother Earth! And seeing what's being done to her in the name of progress and profits should make every sane, decent person angry. The only criticism I have with this book is that because it's a bunch of essays and viewpoints from several different people, I found it hard to read more than a couple at a time. I guess it's because of the different writing styles. But because of it's incredible content and a list of active organizations at the end, four stars.

[Bjorn Peterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute must read for anyone involved in development, human rights, social justice, indigenous studies, or international relations.