Taking Back Our Lives in the Age of Corporate Dominance (Electronic book text)

Never before have so many people felt the American Dream crashing down around them. The corporate framework-which values competition and the bottom line above all else-keeps many of us running after an elusive goal and impinges on our personal lives. Advertising-driven culture causes material desires to grow with no corresponding increase in personal time or energy to pursue them. These artificially amped-up needs cause a pressure-cooker lifestyle that threatens health and happiness. Ellen Schwartz and Suzanne Stoddard show the links between our own everyday struggles and the global corporate economy, image-driven media, and the relentless pace which consumes us all-and they tell us what we can do to change things. Detailing 75 action steps for retaking control of our lives, they teach us how to find balance by simplifying, paring down on material possessions, and reevaluating corporate careers. Their provocative questions will shock, prod, and jump-start you into thinking about what matters most to you.