This book describes the political-philosophical controversies in nineteenth-century France and Mexico. Frausto argues that these controversial spaces and times integrate humanities, sciences, and technologies. The power of the metaphysical artifact is a democratic metaphor to transcend disciplinary boundaries and welcome different perspectives.

Obed Frausto argues that US democracy conceals a dominant cultural tyranny of whiteness that he calls white democracy. Frausto argues in this chapter that white democracy is upheld by two pillars of American ideology. First, the melting pot is a concept that demands cultural assimilation, and it functions as a form of cultural terrorism against immigrants’ cultures, traditions, and languages. Second, the American Dream, the idea that any person in the United States can succeed, encourages selfish individualism and consumerism and (...) also promotes the superiority of US culture. To counteract white democracy, Frausto proposes a conception of plural cultural democracy that promotes the recognition of cultural diversity in politics and the political participation of immigrants. (shrink)

Liberal democracy today, having aligned itself with capitalism, is producing a generalized feeling of weariness and disillusionment with government among the citizenry of many countries. Because of a decades-long march of globalized capitalism, economic oligarchies have gained oppressive levels of political power, and as a result, the economic needs of many people around the world have been neglected. It then becomes essential to remember that our ability to change society emerges from our power to formulate different questions; or, in this (...) case, alternative understandings of democracy. This book draws together a variety of alternative theories of democracies in a quest to expose readers to a selection of the most exciting and innovative new approaches to politics today. The consideration of these leading alternative conceptualizations of democracy is important, as it is now common to see xenophobic and racist rhetoric using the platform of liberal democracy to threaten ideas of plurality, diversity, equality, and economic justice. In looking at four different models of democracy this book argues that encounters with alternate conceptualizations of democracy is necessary if citizens and scholars are going to understand the constellation of possibilities that exist for inclusive, plural, economically equal, and just societies. (shrink)

In this introductory chapter, the authors examine a concept they call the weariness of democracy, which they define as a heightened sense of disillusionment with the potential of liberal democracy to address large-scale social, cultural, political, and economic problems and to create just and vibrant societies. They examine how this weariness manifests itself in support of anti-pluralist populist leaders, as witnessed in recent rightwing electoral victories in Europe, Latin America, and the United States, and how the rightward turn contributes to (...) further disillusionment among those groups that have been increasingly marginalized by populist movements. The authors argue that this contemporary problem is the historical culmination of liberal democracy’s inextricable alliance with capitalism, which has always favored the economic and political elite. Not only have these plutocracies effectively utilized the neocolonial economic model to ensure their positions, they have used their power to promote homogeneous societies that suppress diversity in language, culture, and religion. The essays introduced in this chapter provide compelling alternatives to this unjust narrative. (shrink)

_Post-anarchism has misinterpreted traditional anarchism with the assumption that all traditional anarchist thought contains ontologically essentialist ideas about the human condition. This paper makes the following argument. I argue that Flores Magón’s anarchist philosophy is not characterized by fundamental and stable essentialism regarding humanity. On the contrary, he promotes the idea that the nature of humanity is arbitrary and inconsistent with a future of moral transformation (becoming)._.

Pablo González Casanova was a highly influential Mexican intellectual during most of his 101 years of life. He was an exceptional administrator who successfully established two new institutions within the UNAM system, namely a high-school system and a research center. His passion for fostering interdisciplinary collaboration in the fields of science and technology drove these initiatives. This article aims to establish a connection between three key aspects of his theory: internal colonialism, critical thinking within the framework of complex theory, and (...) radical democracy. This paper contends that his concept of radical democracy is crucial in developing internal colonialism and critical thinking in the context of the new sciences and humanities. (shrink)

El pensamiento nómada de Carlos Pereda es un intento de escapar de la razón arrogante hacia la razón porosa a través de máximas que nos animan a hacer todo tipo de preguntas, incluso las que provocan escándalo. Objeto a Pereda con tres cuestionamientos. La primera interrogación se refiere a por qué si el pensamiento nómada se desplaza de un lugar a otro, no puede apartarse de sus propias máximas. La segunda pregunta si el modelo interactivo de resolución de controversias es (...) universal o particular y cómo este modelo interactivo puede resolver agravios históricos. Por último, la tercera interrogante atañe a cómo este panfleto nos puede hacer ver lo común en una forma de emancipación y resistencia política. (shrink)

Este libro es el resultado de los trabajos colectivos llevados a cabo por el grupo académico e intelectual denominado Grupo Seminario Descolonización Democrática del Pensamiento, conformado por integrantes de México, Estados Unidos, Colombia, Argentina y Brasil. La obra se caracteriza por estar en constante movimiento bajo la filosofía polifónica, en la que existe un coro de múltiples voces que interactúan a través de diálogos sobre temas como la descolonialidad y la modernidad, las imágenes dialécticas del mestizaje y la democracia. Los (...) lectores entrarán en un espacio reflexivo que llamamos la caja de resonancia, donde se fomenta un pensar en transformación y democrático de manera comunitaria. (shrink)

This article provides a theoretical framework to help us understand the controversies between the federalist and anti-federalists in the early history of the United States of America during the Federal Convention in 1787 as a conflict of two political philosophical traditions. The sources of these opposed traditions may be traced back to the disputes in ancient Greek philosophy, in thinkers such as Plato and Aristotle who defined politics in different ways. Plato grounds his definition of politics in epistêmê, which means (...) that society should be ruled by the wisest. The federalist argued the best form of government is one where the people could avoid decision-making and leave the wisest representatives to handle politics. In opposition to this, Aristotle believes that politics should be inspired by the notion of phrônesis, which means that decisions should be considered collectively. Similarly, the anti-federalist believed that the government tends to be corrupted, and citizens should be suspicious of the government. They believed the ideal way to govern society is to have everyone involved in decision-making. (shrink)

Machiavelli's continuing fascination arises not just from his hard‐headed maxims but at a deeper level from his willingness to face up to agonising moral choices. The author is a former editor of The Director, a Renaissance scholar, and currently edits International Minds.

The book uses marginality as a critical discourse to outline ways colonial and postcolonial education policies in sub-Saharan Africa created and perpetuated it and deprived some groups from realizing the democratic equality role of education. It provides new ideas for integrating policies to address the educational needs of marginalized children.

La actividad científico-informativa constituye un componente esencial de la actividad científica. Las etapas y tareas que la integran persiguen como propósito fundamental garantizar a los investigadores la información pertinente para el desarrollo exitoso de su trabajo. De ahí la necesidad de evaluar con periodicidad su comportamiento en las bibliotecas médicas. A partir de ello, el objetivo del estudio fue sistematizar los aspectos teórico-metodológicos correspondientes a la evaluación de la actividad científico- informativa en bibliotecas médicas. Para su realización se realizó revisión (...) bibliográfica en la que se analizaron tanto documentos normativos que rigen su accionar en el sector de la salud cubano, como materiales emitidos por otras instancias nacionales e internacionales. The informative work constitutes an essential component of the scientific work. The stages and tasks that comprise it pursue as fundamental purpose to ensure relevant information in order that researchers achieve the successful development of their work. Hence the need to assess regularly their behavior in the medical libraries. Based on that, the objective of the study was to systematize the methodological aspects relating to the evaluation of the scientific-informative work at the medical libraries. In order to accomplish this a broad literature review was made which analyzed both normative documents governing its actions in the Cuban health sector, as materials issued by other national and international bodies. (shrink)

Nursing has improved over the centuries from the physician's handmaiden to a recognised profession. Yet, the image of a nurse is often associated with notions of caring and nurturing‐ attributes considered feminine. Indeed, cultural, and societal biases exist that can deter men from entering the nursing profession where their sense of masculinity is questioned. Several studies have highlighted the existence of gender‐based stereotypes, stigma, rejection, loneliness and discrimination which impact the retention of men in the nursing profession. Despite the established (...) evidence regarding negative experiences, it appears limited attention has been paid to the men who decide to stay in nursing: how do they thrive in a profession wherein biases are evident within and in the wider societal context? Undoubtedly, several factors such as job security and financial incentives may contribute to men remaining in nursing. Beyond these, we borrow the notion of ‘constructive resistance’ to underscore that though the biases may be apparent, male nurses are able to construct alternatives that accommodate the image of a man in the nursing profession. Strategies such as developing the image as a ‘super nurse’ can create opportunities for male nurses to be preferred by other healthcare providers as well as female nurses. Thus, although resistance may usually appear as a negative phenomenon, constructive resistance represents hidden advantages which offers an opportunity to retain male nurses. These need to be highlighted and explored more as they can offer deeper insight into strategies that can be employed to improve retention and representation of men in nursing particularly at a time when the impact of nursing shortage remains a global issue. (shrink)

The fact that young people from Nigeria and Asia make up the largest populations of illegal immigrants overseas is no longer news. The rationale for illegal migration is structural injustice and individual decision-making. Migration has led to increased cultural variety but has also contributed to segregation, racism, and cultural disputes. Stress on the infrastructure, sadness, and anxiety in the host community, and the resurfacing of violence-related post-traumatic disorder attributed to illegal migration. The typical methods for limiting illegal immigration have been (...) nationwide border closures and the repatriation of illegal immigrants. These methods failed to address the issue. Using the method of philosophical analysis, this study maintains that migration has strengthened the economies of many nations and promoted global citizenship and cosmopolitanism, but has led to the deaths of many young Nigerians. The Indigenous Moral Theory of Native-Centric Ethics (togetherness) will be applied to advance and comprehend the causes of illegal immigration as well as potential solutions. Native-centric ethics is the moral of togetherness based on the principles of reciprocity, mutual respect, and working towards the common good. This study concludes that Native-centric ethics should be used by policymakers so that citizens can have faith in their leaders. Of course, this would aid in lowering international unlawful migration. (shrink)

The research on small and medium enterprises (SMEs)Small and medium enterprises (SMEs)financingInternal funding, especially from the developing economy context, remains scantily discussed in the literature. Our study is based on the institutional theory to investigate the moderating influence of entrepreneurial competencies on SMEs’ financingSmall and medium enterprises (SMEs)financing and the business performance of SMEs in Nigeria. The study gathered data from 233 owner-managers of SMEs in Nigeria’s informal economy. We adopted the SEM-PLS to test the direct and indirect relationships between (...) financing strategies, entrepreneurial competencies, and SME performanceSmall and medium enterprises (SMEs)performance. The results showed that bank loans and government grants directly link SMEs’ performance. We also found the mediating role of entrepreneurial competenciesEntrepreneur/entrepreneurialcompetencies on the relationship between personal savings and SME performance. We provided theoretical and practical insights that enhance the roles of formal and informal institutions to support SME financing. (shrink)

This book introduces the study of Biblical studies, theology, religion and philosophy from an African perspective. The book comprises twenty six chapters divided into four sections.