Barely two centuries ago; most of the world's productive land still belonged either communally to traditional societies or to the higher powers of monarch or church. But that pattern; and the ways of life that went with it; were consigned to history by the most creative and simultaneously destructive cultural force in the modern era: the idea of individual; exclusive ownership of land. Spreading from both shores of the north Atlantic; it laid waste to traditional communal civilizations; displacing entire peoples from their homelands; and brought into being a unique concept of individual freedom and a distinct form of representative government. By contrast; as Linklater demonstrates; other great civilizations; in Russia; China; and the Islamic world; evolved very different structures of land ownership and thus very different forms of government and social responsibility. The history and evolution of this concept is a fascinating chapter in the history of civilization; offering unexpected insights about how various forms of democracy and capitalism developed; as well as a revealing analysis of a future where the Earth must sustain nine billion lives. Owning the Earth presents a radically new view of mankind's place on the planet and the history behind it.
#86077 in Books 2017-08-15 2017-08-15Original language:English 9.00 x 1.20 x 6.00l; #File Name: 1614294410360 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A Clear ChoiceBy ArniA clear choice for any student of the Dharma.13 of 13 people found the following review helpful. Buddhism to WesternersBy Hamilton Medeiros SilveiraFinally; a detailed and integrated book about Buddhism was written to Westerners. In 1993; Thubten Chodron started a contact with HH the Dalai Lama in order to convince him to write a book directed to Westerners. Based on Thubten Chodron’s suggestion; the Dalai Lama accepted to write clear Buddhist instructions to the world. This series is the final result.To prepare this publication; intense effort had been performed for many years. Field research in the Buddhist world had been done to gather obscured topics. These questions were presented to the Dalai Lama in order to help and guide him establishing the right direction of presentation of the important Buddhist principles. This is an original and unprecedented contribution of the series.‘Approaching the Buddhist Path’ is a collection of 8 books intended to present Buddhism to the world and; in particular; to the West. This first volume is very well written; it tries to pursue a didactic method. When concepts are introduced; they are immediately well defined. This approach makes the reading easier. The subjects are displayed in a consistent and logical order. Concepts are extensively repeated; this procedure helps the reader to fix them. Summaries are also given to aid reflection. The style of presentation follows the pattern used in the West. Sanskrit and Tibetan terms were seldom used. But; the book is a technical document. It is not a publication for a unique reading. The reader needs to study it in order to comprehend the essence of the exposed matters.If the remainder volumes follow the same scheme used in this first volume; the information about Buddhism presented in this series will be extremely relevant to Westerners.
