Animal Rights/Human Rights - by David Nibert (Paperback)

About the Book

This accessible and cutting-edge work offers a new look at the history of western 'civilization, ' one that brings into focus the interrelated suffering of oppressed humans and other animals. Nibert argues that the oppression both of humans and of other species of animals is in...

Book Synopsis

This accessible and cutting-edge work offers a new look at the history of western 'civilization, ' one that brings into focus the interrelated suffering of oppressed humans and other animals. Nibert argues that the oppression both of humans and of other species of animals is inextricably tangled within the structure of social arrangements. Nibert asserts that human use and mistreatment of other animals are not natural and do little to further the human condition.

Review Quotes

A groundbreaking study of the interrelated oppressions of humans and other animals; rich in historical context, well-researched and well-written, a compelling revelation.

Is capitalism all that it's cracked up to be? Or is something wrong when kids (who can afford to) can explore the whole universe over the Internet, yet are not safe enough to walk their own neighborhood streets? When a man who can entertain himself (and does) with all manner of techno-gadgetry, takes 'time out' to shoot deer and doves for fun? Thoughtful, engaging, and filled with gripping examples from the history books of how prejudice and economic bullying can create true misery for the have-nots of any race, gender, or species. Far more than dinner table discussion, this is food for progressive thought.

Nibert presents a highly provocative, engaging, and accessible discussion of how capitalism has commodified the interests of both humans and nonhumans, and that the 'freedom' supposedly provided by capitalism results in the oppression of us all. The animal rights movement-particularly in the United States-has largely ignored the economic underpinnings of animal exploitation. And American progressives have largely ignored the issue of animal rights. Nibert's book is essential reading for both groups.

The unbridled capitalism of the petrochemical-pharmaceutical, medical, and agricultural and energy industrial complexes, combined with the military and other government and nongovernmental establishments and organizations, has created a huge market and much wealth out of the exploitation and degradation of human and other life, harming the soil, our food, our health, and our quality of life. . . . This brilliant and well-referenced book, long overdue, is an incisive critque of the global problematique of Western civilization and the American way.

This book should be essentail reading for all undergraduate students in the sciences and the humanities. David Nibert helps show us the way to a more humane and visable future.

We live no separate history-oppression and denial harm both workers and the other animals. Yet common oppressions present an uncommon challenge. David Nibert moves the analysis to the next step with Animal Rights/Human Rights. In these pages are important insights, urgent connections, and a vital, liberating theory.

About the Author

David Nibert is a former tenant organizer and community activist who is now associate professor of sociology at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio. He is author of Hitting the Lottery Jackpot: State Governments and the Taxing of Dreams (Monthly Review Press, 2000) and articles in such journals as Critical Sociology, Society & Animals, and Race, Gender & Class.