Beyond the Dependency Culture

Communism has collapsed and socialism is discredited. Is this the end of history? No, James Robertson argues, precisely the opposite. 20th century capitalism and socialism propped each other up. Both belonged to the modern industrialized period of human history, when the powerful interest groups of business and state dominated people, and Euro-American culture and power dominated the world. An emerging post-modern worldview foreshadows possibilities for a new path of progress, more deeply concerned for people and nature.

Based on articles and lectures, this collection explores what this new path of progress could mean for politics, work, welfare, health, energy, the life of families and neighborhoods, the world role of today's rich countries, and other aspects of the human predicament today. Important reading for concerned citizens and policymakers alike.

JAMES ROBERTSON was, from 1953 to 1965, a British government policymaker. In 1960, he travelled with British Prime Minister Harold MacMillan on the historic Wind of Change tour in Africa. After three years in management consultancy and systems analysis, he set up and led an inter-bank research organization. Between 1965 and 1973 he took part in various inquiries on the organization of British government and on London's future as a world financial center. Since 1973 he has worked independently as a writer and thinker on alternative futures and economic and social change. His earlier books include The Sane Alternative, Future Work, and Future Wealth (1990).