Manufacturing Discontent

This book provides a radical take on individualism and the dark side of corporate society. It argues that people everywhere are being manipulated to think they have more choices when infact their power is being steadily corroded by corporations. Written by a well-respected and prolific professor of Economics, this book provides the economic and historical context that is missing from other books of this kind. Corporate power has a huge impact on the rights and privileges of individuals - as workers, consumers, and citizens. This book explores the myth of individualism, which makes people perceive themselves as having choices, when in fact most peoples' options are very limited. Perelman describes the manufacture of unhappiness - the continual generation of dissatisfaction with products people are encouraged to purchase and quickly discard - and the complex techniques corporations employ to avoid responsibility and accountability to their workers, consumers and the environment. He outlines ways in which individuals can surpass individualism and instead work together to check the growing power of corporations. While other books have surveyed the corporate landscape, or decried modern consumerism, Perelman, a professor of economics, places these ideas within a proper economic and historical context. He explores the limits of corporate accountability and responsibility, and investigates the relation between a wide range of phenomena such as food, fear and terrorism. Highly readable, "Manufacturing Discontent" will appeal to anyone with an interest in the way society works - and what really determines the rights of individuals in a corporate society.