The Ralph Nader Reader

by Ralph Nader, Barbara Ehrenreich (Foreword)

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.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, History, Essays, Biography, Political Science, Economics

640 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2000

About the author

American attorney, author, lecturer, political activist, and candidate for President of the United States in five elections, including the last election 0f 2008, with his role in the 2000 election in particular being subject to much debate.

Areas of particular concern to Nader include consumer rights, humanitarianism, environmentalism, and democratic government. Nader is the first Arab American presidential candidate in the U.S.

Reviews

[Kirsten · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know that I could even quantify all the I learned from this book. It covered his writings from the early 70's through about 1999. Some were a little outdated, but many of the issues he wrote about in the 70's are still very relevant today - the need for civic involvement, corporate greed, the role of the media, and so much more. It took me a long time to read this book, but I enjoyed it very much and learned a lot. And now, I'm on to his more recent writings!

[T · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's a lot to be learned from this. I read it because Nader was promoted by Nassim Taleb (for his work on tort law reform). Of course, this is just one of the many subjects covered.

These essays cover a large timespan - from the 1960s to the early 2000s. They reference several US presidential races, several global trade crises, and most of the same fringe political issues still being fought by "third-party candidates" to this day.

Fair warning - the book is quite repetitive. In a given time period (say, the 1992 presidential race), the writings are all very similar. They offer the same advice, often with the same phrasing (but with some pieces added or subtracted). It's very similar to https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3... in this way.

Many of the essays are about civic engagement, and the writing itself is a positive example of activity (opposed to passivity) that is pushing for more activity. A common theme throughout several sections is the need for broadcasting ("the airwaves") to serve citizens, not the other way around. It's interesting to consider what Nader circa 1992 (or 1986, or 1974..) might think of today's Internet - "streamers" are fulfilling some of the promises made about public access TV (but they're still being used as marketing vehicles and escapist entertainers). Social media (especially as described by Taleb) might be the more successful public information system... but only because it has been so thoroughly subverted by political activists.

One section deals with essays on 'invasion of privacy' (credit reporting mistakes, investigators using gossip to determine who gets a job or buys a car etc). Again, consider how much deeper we now find ourselves in the same problem (with the hypothetical vast surveillance of telecom networks, and people willingly divulging so much through social media). The possibility of workplaces enforcing groupthink with threats of poisoned reference checks is a small afterthought in one essay - today issues like the firing of James Damore indicate how much this issue has 'grown'.

If you want to know about Nader as he is/was (not as 'a nut' portrayed by the mainstream media), this is a good book to start with. Chances are, you will also learn a lot about late 20th century American history (even if you were around for it).

[Guillermo Galvan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started this book knowing nothing about Ralph Nader, except that he once ran for president and got demolished. The media presented him as a nut-job and I never bothered why until now.

The Ralph Nader Reader is a collection of essays and articles concerning corporate abuse in the United States. I thought nothing could shock me after reading a nice stack of political science, but I was wrong. Each new writing revealed a new low by corporate world, a blatant disregard for all forms of life, and the fact we, the citizens, are bearing the bill as well as the abuse.

Corporate power has dominated all aspects of our lives. It controls our government and thereby manipulates everything from the price of milk to what country is next on the warpath of the Military Industrial Complex. But Nader also presents perspective, one in which we, as consumers and citizens, can counteract and ultimately create business standard that isn't destructive to our rights, lives, economy, and environment. It's no mystery why the corporate owned media has always done everything to discredit him. His ideas are a direct threat to the corporate strangle hold over the planet.

Ralph Nader takes a place alongside other radical thinkers such as Noam Chomsky, Chris Hedges, Chris Hedges,Howard Zinn, and Martin Luther King Jr. for seeing the injustice of their time and taking on the unpopular fight.

[Joomi Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I believe this would be a good book for me to look at.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting perspective and book. I enjoyed it for the most part and appreciate his opinion on the political landscape from the past.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a great book to read as a post-college liberal, giving a bit of a guide to follow for a socially-minded career path. The only thing I shouldn't have listened to was the 'go to law school' part.

[Barbc]

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