Can democracy survive global capitalism?
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to close their gap with the developed countries; which by current measures may not be possible. Is this catching up necessary? Cohen has acknowledged that the GDP measure is suspect. If so what other measures would be needed to have high quality of life in these countries without damaging the environment? Cohen quotes Tim Jackson: ‘The truth is that there is as yet no credible socially just ecologically sustainable scenario of continually growing incomes for a world of nine billion people’ [4]. Cohen ambitiously wants the world to regain its confidence in the ability to build a common world, but has there ever been a common world? The author has not referred to the UNDP’s 17 sustainable goals of development announced in January 2016 to build on the success achieved on the millennium development goals. The problemwould be to sustain high rates of economic growth in China and India without environmental damage. Although both countries have promised to reduce pollution, the enormous scale of their ambitions and their continued dedication to fossil fuels make problems more likely than not. Cohen debates in the concluding chapters of his book what would satisfy human beings, happiness, trust and cultural unity. But Cohen cannot come to any definite conclusion as many of these characteristics are relative. In any society, there are contradictions. Some people are satisfied with all they have. Others consider their levels as the new standard for further upward mobility. Some believe that income levels may not necessarily reflect the level of happiness. Cohen seems to be bewildered at the heterogeneity in the world where environmental damage is perceptible but yet human desires remain insatiable and growing. Thus, the author concludes that an individual has to have a shared sense of the community in which he or she lives and works, hoping presumably that will result in a sense of responsibility towards the future of this planet. One notable feature of this book is that it refers to authors of the European continent apart from those from the UK and the USA. The author will have to carry out extensive revisions if the book has to become widely acceptable. But this is a fine flower of the French intellectual tradition which continues to permeate the nation.
[1] J. M. Alier. For a Prosperity without Growth , 2015 .