Building on the work of Elinor Ostrom (Governing the Commons) the author examines how the different shared goods of a democratic society are shaped by technology and demonstrates how club goods, common pool resources, and public goods are supported, enhanced, and disrupted by technology. He further argues that as the common good is undermined by different interests, it should be possible to reclaim technology, if the members of the society conclude that they have something in common.
The commodification of science—often identified with commercialization, or the selling of expertise and research results and the “capitalization of knowledge” in academia and beyond—has been investigated as a threat to the autonomy of science and academic culture and criticized for undermining the social responsibility of modern science. In From Commodification to the Common Good, Hans Radder revisits the commodification of the sciences from a philosophical perspective to focus instead on a potential alternative, the notion of public-interest science. Scientific knowledge, he argues, constitutes a common good only if it serves those affected by the issues at stake, irrespective of commercial gain. Scrutinizing the theory and practices of scientific and technological patenting, Radder challenges the legitimacy of commercial monopolies and the private appropriation and exploitation of research results. His book invites us to reevaluate established laws and to question doctrines and practices that may impede or even prohibit scientific research and social progress so that we might achieve real and significant transformations in service of the common good.
Robert B. Reich makes a powerful case for the expansion of America’s moral imagination. Rooting his argument in common sense and everyday reality, he demonstrates that a common good constitutes the very essence of any society or nation. Societies, he says, undergo virtuous cycles that reinforce the common good as well as vicious cycles that undermine it, one of which America has been experiencing for the past five decades. This process can and must be reversed. But first we need to weigh the moral obligations of citizenship and carefully consider how we relate to honor, shame, patriotism, truth, and the meaning of leadership. Powerful, urgent, and utterly vital, this is a heartfelt missive from one of our foremost political thinkers.
"How adroitly he cuts through the crap and really says something", describes "The Village Voice" of world-famous political writer and lecturer Noam Chomsky. In his latest report on the state of the world, Chomsky discusses a breathtaking variety of topics, ranging from Japan's trade policies to the "war" on drugs, corporate welfare, and much more.
This books analyzes international financial markets and environmental problems as typical examples of transnational common goods and considers the factors affecting the strategic constellations of countries in common goods provision, in particular the strategic effects of multi-level governance.
First published in 1986. In this thought-provoking book the widely acclaimed thinker and activist, Marcus Raskin, moves beyond the limits and failures of socialism and capitalism to an original theory of social reconstruction for a humane society. Presenting concrete alternatives for education, health, economics and national security he develops a new conception of democracy and the rule of law in relation to our common good. A political and philosophic tool designed for those who search for alternatives in their lives and in the world, The Common Good shows how to organize for social reconstruction, the type of leadership now required, and the importance of restoring progress as a political purpose. Defining politics as broader than the mere manifestation of power, Raskin’s vision helps the left and liberals find their way towards a new public philosophy and program.
Offers a systematic analysis of institutional solutions for providing common goods, showing how hierarchies, established over centuries of nation-state rule, are obsolete, while negotiation and self- regulation have grown in importance. Contributors include international scholars in the fields of sociology, economics, political science, and other fields. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
University ethics is everyone's business, and big business is what the university is all about whether in the US, Europe or the rest of the world. How this has come about is less important than that it has, and is being taken very seriously by global and national forces. The important issue confronting higher education is its assumed role in guaranteeing economic prosperity. Governments are no longer content to let research leak out serendipitously into the economy. The Post-Industrial Society, Information Society, Knowledge Economy and Smart Economy require nothing less than commercially directed research producing innovatory products. The public interest is reduced to economic measures. The political, social and moral implications of changing practices in the university are rarely acknowledged in the rise of the New Alchemy. This book examines the resulting ambiguities and questionable evidence in favour of current polices.
Patrick Riordan takes a different approach to the questions of global ethics by following the direction of questioning initially pioneered by Aristotle; for him the most basic question of ethics is 'what is the good life'? So in the context of contemporary global ethics the Aristotelian questioner wonders about the good life on a global scale. Global Ethics and Global Common Goods fills the gap in existing literature caused by the neglect of the topic of the good in global ethics. Beginning by outlining answers to questions such as 'what is good?' and 'is there a highest good?' Riordan demonstrates the value of a common good perspective in matters of universal human rights and their institutions and practices, the study of international relations and the construction of global institutions, and debates about global justice between cosmopolitanism, nationalism and economic globalization. Philosophical questions provoked by these debates are identified and pursued, such as the question of a common human nature which seems presupposed by the language of universal rights. For experienced students of political philosophy and international relations this is a crucial text in the literature exploring the possibilities for politics on a world scale, while the perspective of the common good adds a new and distinctive dimension to current debates on global security and the challenges of managing conflict.
In Christian Ethics and Biomedical Innovation, Stephen Goundrey-Smith outlines a strategy for future adoption of human enhancement technologies which will ensure that such technologies are a common good, a strategy which is appropriate for a pluralistic society, yet consistent with Christian ethical principles. Drawing on the history of biomedical innovation to date in pharmaceutical medicine, he argues that technological capability alone is not enough, and that the responsible adoption of enhancement technologies will require active ethical deliberation and robust public policy discourse. Goundrey-Smith argues that biomedical technology, ethics, and public policy together form an essential triad for appropriate future enhancement technology adoption. This approach helps to ensure that biomedical technologies introduced will be common goods, and to reduce the risk of their instrumental use. The use of any technology is closely linked to its sociopolitical and cultural context and, drawing on Augustine’s The City of God, Goundrey-Smith presents a theological vision for good biomedical technology innovation in human society.
