Global Values 101: A Short Course

by Anna Portnoy

Global Values 101 grew out of one of the most popular courses ever offered at Harvard University, in which some of the most original thinkers of our day sat down with students and explored how ideas have made them-and can make us-more engaged, involved, and compassionate citizens. In these engrossing, essay-length interviews, which address the topics of war, religion, the global economy, and social change, Amy Goodman, host of the popular radio program Democracy Now, speaks about the role of the independent media as gatekeeper and witness; Lani Guinier, author of Tyranny of the Majority, reveals that students' SAT scores more accurately describe the kind of car their parents drive than the grades they will earn in college and shows the way to a more equitable college admissions system; Howard Zinn, author of A People's History of the United States, explores the American Dream and exposes the myth of the "good war"; economist Juliet Schor, author of Born to Buy and The Overspent American, explains why Americans are willing to sacrifice quality of life to attain financial success; former "mall rat" Naomi Klein, author of No Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies, urges readers to go global while fighting global conglomerates; and Katha Pollitt, author of Reasonable Essays on Women and Feminism, employs her incisive wit to explore what it really means to be a feminist in the Twenty First century.

For anyone who has been moved by idealism and longed to become a more proactive citizen, this collection offers a range of stories on how progressive ethics can inform, inspire, and ultimately transform lives.

Genres: Nonfiction, Anthologies, Inspirational

Library Binding

First published February 1, 2006

Reviews

[Raghunath · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic introduction to persuasive arguments and ideas on how to better the world.

Not PR bullshit
or
Self-help bull shit
or
abstract morals

Specific steps towards equality, human rights, non violence and justice. A kind of quick read manual for any left liberal leaning persons.

[Joe Pratt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Essentially, the book was a series of transcripts from this class at Harvard called Global Values 101. The idea behind the class was to provide a place where students could engage with experts, politicians, journalists, and business leaders. They’d have a different guest every class and, after reading things this guest wrote, they’d have a question-and-answer type conversation.

Parts were pretty boring. Parts felt a little radically left. Parts felt outdated. But, still, parts of it were really interesting and enlightening.

One way this book changed me was the desire I have to read histories of other countries. I realized that in my America-centric education I don’t know much at all about the recent history of other countries. I am a proponent of globalization in the sense that we should view the world holistically instead of dividing ourselves up in nations and tribes (obviously this is an ideal to strive towards and not a realistic short term goal). But I had to ask myself how could I truly view the rest of the world as my brothers and sisters if I don’t know anything about them and their culture. This quote by Noam Chomsky summed up this up for me, both on a micro and macro level. “We do not notice when we do things to other people. When they do something to us, we notice. But when we do it to them, it just didn't happen" (pg. 44).

One thing I liked and agreed with was this principle put forth by Naomi Klein. "We mistakenly believe that guilt is your best motivator. The way to get people active is to make them feel really bad and berate them with their complicity in an abusive system. That complicity is there and the abuses are there, but my experience is that guilt is a short-term motivator. Make people feel guilty and they might give money or sign a petition, but then they will just try to avoid the people making them feel guilty, because people really don't like to feel guilty" (pg. 111). This applies to me personally as I work to achieve my goals and become the person I want to be. It also applies in my interactions with others. Unconditional love and acceptance, validation, and support are far more powerful motivators than guilt.

At times the book was frustrating because I felt like the guest was too radical or had too narrow of a vision of the world. This offered me a chance to practice listening to other people’s perspectives even when I didn’t agree with them. And I mean really listen, not in a combative or critical way, but in a way that helped me to see the world through their eyes. For instance, I was able to open myself up to questioning whether capitalism is the golden economic system I’ve always believed it is. While my views haven’t changed that it was (and currently is) the right system for the modern world, I was able to better see flaws in it that I’ve been blind to before - a tendency towards promoting consumerism, allowing too much power for big corporations with tremendous marketing resources, and a hyper focus on things that don’t truly matter (i.e. money).

Swanee Hunt underscored this principle of listening to people you don’t agree with using a great quote from a conversation she had with Viktor Frankl (a man I highly respect). "Dr. Frankl said to me, 'Madame Ambassador. Sometimes the right thing to do is only 55 percent right.'... If you think about it, you do not know if you are on the side of the 55 or the 45 because if you have a position that is 45 percent right, you can make a fabulous case for that position. You can write essays, you can write books describing why the 45 percent is right. You do not know you are right until you look back, and even then you do not know. You are in a position where you have to commit or you are just paralyzed... If you are certain on your position...you are probably not being very thoughtful" (pg. 183). The part at the end about being thoughtful is my favorite. Again, I don’t need to agree with everyone, but I should be thoughtful and consider why they believe what they believe and look for how I might be blind towards truths they’re sharing.

Finally, I loved learning about Aaron Feuerstein and his controversial decision to continue to pay his his employees after his textile mill burned to the ground in the 1990s. That he didn’t decide to rebuild in a cheaper country and maximize profits is one thing, but to continue to pay his workers while he rebuilt was inspiring. I’m not sure he made the right decision (I’m not sure he didn’t either), but I loved where his focus was - on the people. He didn’t think about the money he was losing or how to maximize his own bank account, he cared about his workers and his responsibility to them. It made me wonder what the world would be like if businesses hired people and they became the shareholders. They could help make the decisions, determine the trajectory of the company, and share in the profits. I am looking forward to exploring thoughts about what that would be like.

Overall, I’m glad I read it. Not sure I’d recommend it cause it was a bit boring much of the time, but there were some gems.

[Nell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bounce between the desire to be informed, and therefore to act in accordance with my values, and the desire not to know what’s going on because it is inevitably and overwhelmingly bad and disillusioning and so beyond my puny efforts to make a nanobit of difference. The seesaw landed on the former side and I dipped into Global Values 101. I particularly enjoyed Robert Reich’s perspective, which struck a balance between the idealistic and the practical, and read several other essays. It is heartening to hear knowledgeable, committed people who are out there fighting the good fight even if I personally don’t have the stomach for it.

[CTEP]

This book is a collection of interviews, read like a collection of essays, from profound individuals and leaders in different subject areas. The concept was developed by a Harvard professor, Bryan Palmer, PhD. and Kate Holbrook, who wanted to bring about discussion on different view points of how to be an engaged citizen and an idealist. Students prepared questions for the open conversations with these leaders to gain a broader perspective on the values and issues faced in a global world. The book, derived from a popular class at Harvard, is a great book to flex your understanding of your own values. It would be a great book for conversation or a group discussion. I chose this book for my May book club book because the context of so many different leaders sharing their perspectives and experiences interested me.

Global Values 101 hones in on what it is to be an engaged citizen of the world. Each interviewee has their own perspective, but you start to see a similar course across the board about the importance of learning from different viewpoints. I have found in my two years of service that it is important to stay engaged as a citizen. Often we talk about being “civically engaged” and there are a number of ways of doing this (i.e. reading the newspaper, attending town meetings/ neighborhood watch, writing a blog, attending community events, self-educate yourself on what is going on around you). This collection of interviews has helped me continue to view and understand different view points and see the potential in communicating across fields and expertise.

I recommend this book for 2 reasons: 1) this book is great for reflection and ignites some interesting thoughts to consider. 2) It is interesting to see the changes in our society’s values and attitudes have changed in the past 5-10 years based on different world events.

[kate buskirk · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this book took me a hot minute to read, it was incredibly enjoyable and i liked the fact it's in the interview segments so you can flip to different ideas and discussions in no particular order. Some amazing points, and amazing people, involved. Definitely worth the read. Goes beyond general political segments to discuss morals

[Licia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was/am reading this in a book group with good friends. We discussed the ethical and political content of each interview with the likes of Paul Farmer,Howard Zin, etc. MY favorite person to read was martha Minow, a legal scholar, in her interview she discusses forgiveness, individual and societal. How we tend to force people to forgive, revictimizing them. She also mentions a thought experiment. In order to launch a war, a public official must press a button implanted inside the body of a human being. In order to press you must actually cut open the human being. I'm not saying I agree with the actual experiment, but it seems we need more concrete evidence of the real live young boys who will be killed --before we start wars. The pain must be felt with the heart.

The book is getting old and its timeliness is waning for some of the discussions.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are two classes that I took as a Master's student that literally changed my life; both were taught by Brian Palmer (and one was TAed by my dear friend, Kate Holbrook). This book is based on the course, "Personal Choice and Global Transformation" and is a compilation of some of the speakers (from all career paths) we had the priviledge to interview.

I had read this book when it first came out a couple years ago and loved it (so much more convenient than turning back to my old notes). I picked it up this month to find some good "save-the-world" resources. This book is such a lovely pick-me-up when I wonder how/if I can make a difference. My favorites are Robert Reich, Juliet Schor, and Amy Goodman (see if her account of East Timor doesn't leave you in tears).

[Amri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not to dote on my sister-in-law, but she was one of the editors of the collection and helped teach the class. It was a Harvard (I know, that's embarrassing) class that brought all kinds of lecturers in from local janitors to Peter Singer and they all talked about their value systems and how they came to be. The essays are all great, some very touching and all inspiring to figure out what my value system is. Usually it's some vague, nebulous thing that I have that was probably inadvertently taught to me by NPR. I went to a reading/discussion of this once and I met Howard Zimmerman. Also, one time I was babysitting at her house and she had emails from Noam Chomsky printed out on the table!

[Tamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really needed this book at this time in my life. It helped me revisit a lot of issues and beliefs that I have and has re-invigorated me to be better informed about the world, more invested in helping others and more mindful about how I spend my time.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short book full of interesting thought from many people who are trying to make the world a better place. But, in the end, I think it's probably like watching a series of TED talks - interesting and "inspiring", but not likely to change much or cause readers to take any specific actions.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn't resist making a plug for my own book!