Review of the Book:
The Earth Belongs to Everyone
by Alanna Hartzok

Nadine Stoner

[Reprinted from GroundSwell, September-October 2008 ]

Earth Rights Institute and the Institute for Economic Democracy Press have co-published a new book, The Earth Belongs to Everyone. This collection of 30 articles and essays by Alanna Hartzok sets forth the vision and policy foundation for "earth rights democracy" and presents a large and hopeful worldview with profound possibilities for transformational action for peace, economic justice, and environmental restoration.

Following an introduction containing glimpses of the author's fascinating journey through life, The Earth Belongs to Everyone describes how to establish political-economic systems based on the human right to the planet as a birthright. Hartzok's key theme is that earth rights democracy is an essential ethical basis necessary to secure other economic human rights and to create a world of peace and plenty for all. She places this core perspective into an integrated local-to-global framework that balances the need for global cooperation with the necessity for building demilitarized, decentralized, and sustainable local-based economics.

Themes of the book include: Democracy, Earth Rights and the Next Economy; Sharing Our Common Heritage; Land for People, Not for Profit; Financing Local to Global Public Goods; Women, Earth and Economic Power; Restructuring Economic Relationships; Economics of War and Peace.

Hazel Henderson, author of Beyond Globalization and Building a Win-Win World, and member of President's Commission on Sustainable Development, says:  "Alanna Hartzok has deeply researched tax issues with equity and ecological-sustainability firmly in mind. This book is a storehouse of wisdom and insights on these and many broader issues relating economics to the larger planetary ecology."

James Robertson, author of The New Economics of Sustainable Development, and co-founder of The Other Economic Summit and New Economics Foundation, says:  "More and more people are convinced that the only way to a just, prosperous and ecologically sustainable future is to share the value of Earth's resources more fairly.  One of the many merits of Alanna Hartzok's collection of writings is to ground that conviction in practical proposals.  She inspires us to do something about it."

The Earth Belongs to Everyone is 360 pages and includes a 25-page introduction with article summaries, 30+ photos, graphs and charts, and a 10-page index.  Book Price to readers of GroundSwell is $25 (List Price: $35), plus S & H: $5.  Make   checks payable to Earth Rights Institute, Box 328, Scotland, PA 17254, USA.