Description
Finalist in 2010-11 PEOPLE’S BOOK PRIZE for Non-Fiction
Fred Harrison draws on global-wide case studies to show how the violent birth of nation-states, whether the result of territorial conquests or colonialism, splits the population into two classes, victors and vanquished. This division is perpetuated and legitimated through the system of land tenure. The pathological consequences – as diverse as failed states, organised crime (mafia), religious fundamentalism and the re-emergence of piracy – are the result of the violent uprooting of the original inhabitants from their homelands.
Understanding the territorial basis of political power and wealth is the pre-requisite, Fred Harrison argues, for making sense of issues as diverse as genocide, narco-gangsterism and fascism. The struggle over land and resources, he contends, is at the root of all of today’s global crises. Some attempts are being made to restore land to those in need, ranging from the offer of land in Afghanistan to the Taliban as an inducement to set aside their violent strategies, to the sharing of the rents of oil in Nigeria to entice eco-warriors into mainstream politics. But these piecemeal tactics fail to synthesise the conditions for peace and prosperity.
The Predator Culture provides a framework for truth and reconciliation in what has become a violent world that is slipping dangerously out of control.
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Author Details
Fred Harrison is Research Director of Land Research Trust, London. After a career as a Fleet Street investigative journalist, he was a consultant to a number of Russian academic and political bodies, including the Duma (parliament), in their efforts to implement a more equitable transition to a market economy. Recently he has turned his attention to the failure of economic analysis and public policies in the market economies.
Read more on Fred’s author page.
Visit Fred’s Blog.
View Fred’s YouTube channel – Geophilos.
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Reviews
“You can become wealthy by creating wealth or by appropriating the wealth created by other people. When the appropriation of the wealth is illegal it is called theft or fraud. When it is legal economists call it rent-seeking.”
John Kay, Financial Times
“A new book by Fred Harrison The Predator Culture is another one of his to be read and re-read. A revealing book for anyone owning or trading property, in land development or associated occupations such as banking, anywhere in the world.”
The Free Lunch
“This is a very important book – Read The Predator Culture and gain insight for solutions to troubles in distant lands, as well as in your own. Let us hope Heads of State, Finance Ministers and Foreign Secretaries everywhere are told about this book.”
Reader review, Amazon
Voters comments in The People’s Book Prize:
“This book takes the lid off the main cause of poverty and inequality in society.”
“This is a wonderful book, that helped me see that much of the world’s warfare and social deprivation is caused by charging people to use the earth that Nature has given us.”
“Fred Harrison’s latest book adds additional depth and historical perspective to his prior works.”
