Author: Robert Wuthnow Publisher: Princeton University Press ISBN: 1400822203 Category : Social Science Languages : en Pages : 442
Book Description
The American Dream is in serious danger, according to Robert Wuthnow--not because of economic conditions, but because its moral underpinnings have been forgotten. In the past this vision was not simply a formula for success, but a moral perspective that framed our thinking about work and money in terms of broader commitments to family, community, and humanitarian values. Nowadays, we are working harder than ever, and yet many of us feel that we are not realizing our higher aspirations as individuals or as a people. Here Wuthnow examines the struggles in which American families are now engaged as they try to balance work and family, confront the pressures of consumerism, and find meaning in their careers. He suggests that we can find economic instruction and inspiration in the nation's past--in such figures as Benjamin Franklin, for instance, who was at once the prudent Poor Richard, the engaged public person, and the enthusiastic lover of life. Drawing on first-hand accounts from scores of people in all walks of life and from a national survey, the book shows that work and money cannot be understood in terms of economic theories alone, but are inevitably rooted in our concepts of ourselves and in the symbolic rituals and taboos of everyday life. By examining these implicit cultural understandings of work and money, the book provides a foundation for bringing moral reasoning more fully to bear on economic decisions. It re-examines the moral arguments that were prominent earlier in our history, shows how these arguments were set aside with the development of economistic thinking, and suggests their continuing relevance in the lives of people who have effectively resisted the pressures of greater financial commitments. Demonstrating that most Americans do bring values implicitly to bear on their economic decisions, the book shows how some people are learning to do this more effectively and, in the process, gain greater control over their work and finances. At a time when policymakers are raising questions about the very survival of the American dream, Poor Richard's Principle offers an analysis of how moral restraint can once again play a more prominent role in guiding our thinking.
Author: Robert Wuthnow Publisher: ISBN: 9781400818761 Category : Languages : en Pages :
Book Description
The American dream is in serious danger, according to Robert Wuthnow--not because of economic conditions, but because its moral underpinnings have been forgotten. Here Wuthnow examines the struggles in which American families are now engaged as they try to balance work and family, confront the pressures of consumerism, and find meaning in their careers".Through dozens of citizens who talked with him, Wuthnow records the continuing stresses in modern economic life.... [The] model of an ideal life, Wuthnow maintains, evolved before the Civil War into two schools of social thought, which he calls Oascetic' and Oexpressive' moralism.... Wuthnow's impressive body of polls and interviews convinces us that both of these modern traditions remain powerful influences in American life today".--Richard Parker, The New York Times Book Review"In this sociological tract for our times, Wuthnow reconsiders the nature and meaning of the American dream in the late twentieth century. This book goes much further than merely recounting the manifold failings of American economics and culture in the pursuit of happiness.... Wuthnow perceives a moral vacuum at the core of American society, and recommends that Americans systematically revisit the cultural imperatives of an earlier age to reinvent the paradigm of personal success in late capitalism. An important and timely work".--The Virginia Quarterly Review
Author: Benjamin Franklin Publisher: Courier Corporation ISBN: 0486484491 Category : Literary Collections Languages : en Pages : 257
Book Description
" A fascinating compilation of weather forecasts, recipes, jokes, and aphorisms, Poor Richard's Almanack debuted in 1732. This new edition presents hundreds of Franklin's maxims, along with selections from the Letters, Autobiography, and Franklin's Way to Wealth. An ideal resource for writers, public speakers, and students, this practical, charming little book will delight all readers with its folk wisdom"--
Author: Bob Baker Publisher: Top Floor Publishing ISBN: 9781930082144 Category : Business names Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
Explains how to use the Internet to quickly and inexpensively become an authority in any chosen field -- maintaining a personal Web site, distributing free articles, getting listed in directories and databases, publishing e-mail newsletters, and much more.
Author: Martha Chen Publisher: Routledge ISBN: 1135985693 Category : Business & Economics Languages : en Pages : 397
Book Description
This highly topical volume, with contributions from leading experts in the field, explores a variety of questions about membership based organizations of the poor. Analyzing their success and failure and the internal and external factors that play a part, it uses studies from both developed and developing countries. Put together by a group of prestigious editors, the contributors address a range of questions, including: What structures and activities characterize MBOPs? What is meant by success and what factors account for success? What are the internal (governance structure and leadership) and external (policy environment) factors that account for success? Are these factors replicable across countries or even within countries? What are the constraints to successful MBOPs expanding, or to new ones being formed? What sort of policy environment enables the success of MBOPs and the formation of successful MBOPs? What types of institutional reforms are needed to ensure the representation of the poor through their own MBOs? This is an insightful work, that will be invaluable for students and researchers studying or working in the areas of international and development economics and development studies.
Author: Richard Koch Publisher: Crown Currency ISBN: 0385528310 Category : Business & Economics Languages : en Pages : 290
Book Description
Be more effective with less effort by learning how to identify and leverage the 80/20 principle: that 80 percent of all our results in business and in life stem from a mere 20 percent of our efforts. The 80/20 principle is one of the great secrets of highly effective people and organizations. Did you know, for example, that 20 percent of customers account for 80 percent of revenues? That 20 percent of our time accounts for 80 percent of the work we accomplish? The 80/20 Principle shows how we can achieve much more with much less effort, time, and resources, simply by identifying and focusing our efforts on the 20 percent that really counts. Although the 80/20 principle has long influenced today's business world, author Richard Koch reveals how the principle works and shows how we can use it in a systematic and practical way to vastly increase our effectiveness, and improve our careers and our companies. The unspoken corollary to the 80/20 principle is that little of what we spend our time on actually counts. But by concentrating on those things that do, we can unlock the enormous potential of the magic 20 percent, and transform our effectiveness in our jobs, our careers, our businesses, and our lives.
Author: Aaron Clarey Publisher: ISBN: 9781545539095 Category : Languages : en Pages : 146
Book Description
Don't have enough money saved up for retirement? No problem. Never started a 401k or IRA? Don't worry. And are you so far behind in your personal finances you're worried you'll never be able to retire? It's all good. Because whether you know it or not, the entire US retirement system is horribly flawed and was doomed to fail anyway. And that's why every American needs to read "Poor Richard's Retirement." "Poor Richard's Retirement" is a revolutionary retirement system because, unlike today's conventional retirement planning, it works. It puts retirement easily within the reach of your everyday man. Whether you have student loans, a mortgage, are behind in your retirement planning, or have no retirement savings at all, "Poor Richard's Retirement" bypasses it all by showing you how little you truly need to retire. And it does so through the simple truth that happiness is not found in $400 yoga pants, luxury SUV's, McMansions, or whatever lies they're selling you on TV, but through love of family, friends, and your fellow man. All of which are free. Make retirement infinitely easier and life happier. Buy "Poor Richard's Retirement" today. Nobody in America has saved enough for retirement...until now.
Author: Joe Soss Publisher: University of Chicago Press ISBN: 0226768767 Category : Business & Economics Languages : en Pages : 380
Book Description
This volume lays out the underlying logic of contemporary poverty governance in the United States. The authors argue that poverty governance has been transformed in the United States by two significant developments.
Author: Robert Wuthnow
Author: Robert Wuthnow
Author: Benjamin Franklin
Author: Benjamin Franklin
Author: Bob Baker
Author: Benjamin Franklin
Author: Martha Chen
Author: Richard Koch
Author: Aaron Clarey
Author: Joe Soss