{"title":"Colin Crouch","description":"\u003cp\u003eColin Crouch offers incisive explorations into contemporary politics and society, critically examining issues such as capitalism, democracy, and social exclusion. His works engage deeply with the challenges of modern governance and the shifting dynamics of globalisation, providing thought-provoking insights into the political landscape.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBlending rigorous analysis with accessible discussion, Crouch’s books also delve into education and the economy, reflecting on how knowledge and market forces intersect. Readers interested in understanding the complexities of current affairs and societal change will find his contributions both enlightening and essential.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"the-globalization-backlash-by-colin-crouch-9781509533770","title":"The Globalization Backlash","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGlobalisation, heralded for decades as a harbinger of prosperity, faces a huge backlash. Derided by right-wing nationalists as a ‘globalist’ plot to undermine traditional communities, and by left-wing critics as the rule of rampaging corporations, it has become a political punching bag around the world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn this incisive book, leading commentator Colin Crouch defends globalisation against its critics to the right and left. He argues that reversing the process would mean a poorer world riven by nationalistic and reactionary antagonisms. However, globalisation will only be worth saving if we institute reforms to promote social solidarity and recover pride and confidence for the cities and regions that have lost out. Crouch shows that we can therefore only save globalisation from itself if we transcend the nation state and subject global economic flows to democratically responsible transnational governance.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eCrouch provides a much-needed riposte to the delusions that risk plunging the world back into a zero-sum game of regressive economic nationalism, combining cool-headed analysis with a visionary call for a reformed and genuinely progressive globalisation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Globalization Backlash\u003c\/em\u003e offers readers a compelling argument for a thoughtful and concerted effort to reform global dynamics for the benefit of all.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47432920400108,"sku":"9781509533770","price":30.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781509533770.jpg?v=1774766114"},{"product_id":"will-the-gig-economy-prevail-by-colin-crouch-9781509532445","title":"Will the gig economy prevail?","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIncreasingly, employees are being falsely treated as ‘self-employed’. This phenomenon – the \u003cem\u003egig economy\u003c\/em\u003e – is seen as the inevitable shape of things to come.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn this book, Colin Crouch takes a step back and questions this logic. He shows how the idea of an employee – a stable status that involves a bundle of rights – has maintained a curious persistence. Examining the ways companies are attacking these rights, from proffering temporary work to involuntary part-time work to ‘gigging’, he reveals the paradoxes of the situation and argues that it should not and cannot continue. He goes on to propose reforms to reverse the perverse incentives that reward irresponsible employers and punish good ones, setting out an agenda for a realistic future of secure work.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eCrouch’s penetrating analysis will be of interest to everyone interested in the future of work, the welfare state and the gig economy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47455880839404,"sku":"9781509532445","price":23.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781509532445.jpg?v=1774863074"},{"product_id":"making-capitalism-fit-for-society-by-colin-crouch-9780745672236","title":"Making Capitalism Fit For Society","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eCapitalism\u003c\/em\u003e is the only complex system known to us that can provide an efficient and innovative economy, but the financial crisis has brought out the pernicious side of capitalism and shown that it remains dependent on the state to rescue it from its own deficiencies. Can capitalism be reshaped so that it is fit for society, or must we acquiesce to the neoliberal view that society will be at its best when markets are given free rein in all areas of life?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe aim of this book is to show that the acceptance of capitalism and the market does not require us to accept the full neoliberal agenda of unrestrained markets, insecurity in our working lives, and neglect of the environment and of public services. In particular, it should not mean supporting the growing dominance of public life by corporate wealth.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe world’s most successful mature economies are those that fully embrace both the discipline of the market and the need for protection against its negative outcomes. Indeed, a continuing, unresolved clash between these two forces is itself a major source of vitality and innovation for economy and society. But maintenance of that tension depends on the enduring strength of trade unions and other critical groups in civil society – a strength that is threatened by neoliberalism’s increasingly intolerant onward march.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOutlining the principles for a renewed and more assertive social democracy, this timely and important book shows that real possibilities exist to create a better world than that which is being offered by the wealthy elites who dominate our public and private lives.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47463524729068,"sku":"9780745672236","price":40.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780745672236-making-capitalism-fit-for-society.jpg?v=1775034084"},{"product_id":"the-knowledge-corrupters-by-colin-crouch-9780745669861","title":"The Knowledge Corrupters","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn principle, the advanced, market-driven world in which we now live is fuelled by knowledge, information, and transparency. However, in practice, the processes that produce this world systematically corrupt and denigrate knowledge. This is the powerful and provocative argument advanced by Colin Crouch in his latest exploration of societies on the road to post-democracy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eCrouch shows that executives in profit-maximizing corporations have incentives to ignore or distort knowledge, especially firms in the information business of the mass media themselves, as financial knowledge increasingly trumps the other kinds of knowledge that business needs. Firms also seek to take control of public knowledge and use it for their own ends, often at the cost of other stakeholders in society. Meanwhile, the transfer of similar practices to professional public services undermines professional skills and ethics—especially when these services are outsourced to the private sector. Attempts to extricate ourselves from these problems involve reshaping the complex and often conflicting relationships among citizens, professionals, managers, and financiers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis new book by one of the most incisive critics of contemporary Western societies will be of interest to a wide range of readers, from students to policymakers and those who work in the public and private sectors.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47471800844524,"sku":"9780745669861","price":37.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780745669861-the-knowledge-corrupters.jpg?v=1775255325"},{"product_id":"exclusion-and-the-new-politics-of-hatred-by-colin-crouch-9781509573226","title":"Exclusion and the New Politics of Hatred","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eColin Crouch argues that at the base of all political conflicts are struggles over which types of people should be included in and which excluded from various rights, including the right to exist at all within a particular society. This is more fundamental than any conflict between left and right or between classes, and it gives rise to tropes of inclusionary and exclusionary rhetoric that can be transferred across issues – from ethnicity to gender and sexual orientation, and including demands for nations to isolate themselves as much as possible from contacts with others.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eToday the forces seeking exclusions of many kinds are gaining ground in the strategies of many governments, parties and movements. Drives to exclude lead rapidly to the incitement of hatred, which leads in turn to acts of performative cruelty and physical violence.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDeeply opposed as he is to the politics of exclusion, Crouch seeks to understand and explain its rationality. He passionately advocates a politics of inclusion but, at the same time, he recognises the real obstacles that a commitment to inclusion must confront. While not optimistic about how these struggles will play out in the coming years, he seeks a path through which campaigns for openness and welcome could still triumph in dark times.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eExclusion and the New Politics of Hatred\u003c\/em\u003e offers a keen insight into the challenges of fostering inclusivity in an era marked by increasing division. Crouch’s dedication to finding solutions in the face of adversity shines through as a beacon of hope for those committed to a more open and accepting society.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47562843783404,"sku":"9781509573226","price":47.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781509573226-exclusion-and-the-new-politics-of-hatred.jpg?v=1776987798"},{"product_id":"post-democracy-after-the-crises-by-colin-crouch-9781509541577","title":"Post-Democracy After the Crises","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn \u003ci\u003ePost-Democracy\u003c\/i\u003e (Polity, 2004), Colin Crouch argued that behind the façade of strong institutions, democracy in many advanced societies was being hollowed out, its big events becoming empty rituals as power passed increasingly to circles of wealthy business elites and an ever-more isolated political class.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eCrouch’s provocative argument has in many ways been vindicated by recent events, but these have also highlighted some weaknesses of the original thesis and shown that the situation today is even worse. The global financial deregulation that was the jewel in the crown of wealthy elite lobbying brought us the financial crisis and helped stimulate xenophobic movements which no longer accept the priority of institutions that safeguard democracy, like the rule of law.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe rise of social media has enabled a handful of very rich individuals and institutions to target vast numbers of messages at citizens, giving a false impression of debate that is really stage-managed from a small number of concealed sources.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eCrouch evaluates the implications of these and other developments for his original thesis, arguing that while much of his thesis remains sound, he had under-estimated the value of institutions which are vital to the support of a democratic order. He also confronts the challenge of populists who seem to echo the complaints of \u003ci\u003ePost-Democracy\u003c\/i\u003e but whose pessimistic nostalgia brings an anti-democratic brew of hatred, exclusion and violence.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47597524877548,"sku":"9781509541577","price":71.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781509541577-post-democracy-after-the-crises.jpg?v=1777955617"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/collections\/colin-crouch.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}