Edward C. Lorenz

Edward C. Lorenz is the Reid-Knox Professor of History and Professor of Political Science at Alma College, where he also directs the college's Public Affairs Institute.

Civic Empowerment in an Age of Corporate Greed

Edward C. Lorenz

Winner: 2012 Historical Society of Michigan State History Award

Winner: 2013 Axiom Business Book Award (in Business Ethics), Jenkins Group

A thought-provoking investigation of an urgent issue facing American communities today, Edward C. Lorenz’s book examines the intersection of corporate irresponsibility and civic engagement. At the heart of this case study is a group of firms responsible for seven of the most contaminated Superfund sites in the United States, the largest food contamination accident in U.S. history, stunning stock and financial manipulations, and a massive shift of jobs off shore. In the face of these egregious environmental, employee, and investor abuses, several communities impacted by these firms organized to confront and combat failures in corporate and bureaucratic leadership, winning notable victories over major financiers, lobbyists, and indifferent or ineffective government agencies. A critical analysis of public and private leadership, business and economic ethics, and civic life, this book concludes with a stirring blueprint for other communities facing similarly overwhelming opposition.

Reviews

“As evidenced by the increasing 99% movement, we are living in a new and corporate age of Robber Barron Capitalism. That's why Civic Empowerment In An Age Of Corporate Greed by Edward C. Lorenz (Reid-Knox Professor of History, Professor of Political Science, and Director of the Public Affairs Institute, Alma College, Michigan) offers such an important and timely descriptive and analytical examination of civic engagement with respect to the kind of unethical and even criminal corporate activity that has resulted in the pollution, contamination, and economic disaster on local, regional, and national scales. Using 'real world' examples arising from seven contaminated Superfund sites, food contamination scandals, financial manipulation debacles, and the organized public efforts to compel corporate interests to reform, readers will find Professor Lorenz's Civic Empowerment In An Age Of Corporate Greed" to be informed, informative, a model of seminal research, and an instructive guide for both public and private reform efforts - including an applicable 'blueprint' for communities having to deal with governmental indifference and corporate obfuscation. Thoroughly 'reader friendly' from beginning to end, Civic Empowerment In An Age Of Corporate Greed is highly recommended for community and academic library collections, as well as to the attention of non- specialist general readers with an interest in curbing corporate corruption in our politics, in our environment, and in our economy.” - MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW

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Notes, references, index world rights 340 pp., 6.00" x 9.00", April 2012 Cloth, $39.95, 1-61186-025-3 978-1-61186-025-2