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Reviews and discusses C. Freeman and L. Soete, Work for all or mass unemployment? Computerised technical change in the Twentyfirst century (London, 1994). (Original abstract-amended)

The "Rise of China" has been hailed as the most important trend in the world for the next century, & with good reason. Market reforms have turned China into the fastest growing large economy in the world. However, the attendant problems of China's growth are serious & numerous, & include high rates of unemployment, onerous labor conditions, & the wholesale plunder of state & social property by China's new entrepreneurs. But perhaps nowhere is the impact of the transition to capitalism having a more devastating effect than upon the environment, in China as well as globally; this impact is the focus of the present article. This paper argues that the forces unleashed by capitalist development -- competition, specialization, production for exchange, economic individualism, privatization, consumerism -- have the effect of worsening many social, economic & environmental conditions for the Chinese even as & indeed largely because this capitalist development is provisioning higher levels of consumption for most, though certainly not all, Chinese. Also discussed is the potential for China to develop economically without producing the environmental devastation attending the industrial development of other societies; however, it is concluded that such destruction cannot be avoided if China allows free market forces to reorganize their economy. 89 References. T. K. Brown

SUSTAINABILITY IS THE WAY TO OVERCOME THE ECOLOGICAL CRISIS, BUT AS IT IS PRESENTLY CONCEIVED IT WILL BE MERELY AN EXTENSION OF THE GENERAL PROCESS OF RATIONALIZATION. GREEN THOUGHT HAS IDENTIFIED RATIONALIZATION AS THE EXPRESSION OF AN ORIENTATION TO EVERYDAY LIFE WHICH HAS LED TO THE ECOLOGICAL CRISIS. THIS IS PRINCIPALLY THE DOMINATION BY EXPERTS AND TECHNOCRATS AND THROUGH SCIENTISM THE EXCLUSION OF NORMATIVE DEBATE FROM SOCIAL AND POLITICAL LIFE. THEREFORE, SUSTAINABILITY WILL FAIL TO OVERCOME THE VERY PROBLEM IT IS SUPPOSED TO SOLVE. BECK ON REFLEXIVE MODERNITY AND GIDDENS ON DE-TRADITIONALIZATION ANALYZE THE CONSIDERATION FOR TRANSCENDING T CONSTRAINTS OF RATIONALIZATION. DE-TRADITIONALIZATION REQUIRES THE ACTIVE CONSIDERATION OF "HOW TO LIVE," WHICH NECESSITATES THE ASKING OF NORMATIVE QUESTIONS. TO BECK THE ECOLOGICAL CRISIS PRODUCES THE CONDITIONS FOR A CRITIQUE OF THE EXISTING SOCIAL ORDER. THIS CRITIQUE PROVIDES THE POSSIBILITY OF AN "ECOLOGICAL DEMOCRACY" IN WHICH THROUGH "PRACTICAL REASON" NORMATIVE ISSUES AS WELL AS PROBLEM SOLVING ARE DEALT WITH IN A NON-REDUCTIONIST MANNER THUS ALLOWING THE CREATION OF UNIVERSAL INTERESTS. GIVEN THAT SUSTAINABILITY IS "THE" UNIVERSAL INTEREST, SUCH A PROCESS WILL GENERATE INDIVIDUAL AND COLLECTIVE COMMITMENT TO MORE SUSTAINABLE WAYS OF LIVING.

A study of community structural characteristics associated with fluoridation outcomes was conducted in 47 communities. A three-part outcome distinction was utilized: communities never having publicly considered the fluoridation issue, those rejecting it, and those accepting it. The independent variables reflect the complexity of the community social and economic structure, social integration, and the centralization of authority. Results of mean comparisons show statistically significant differences between the three outcome types on the independent variables. A series of discriminant analyses provides furtheor evidence of how the independent variables are associated with each outcome type. Non-considering communities are shown to be low in complexity, and high in social integration and the centralization of governmental authority. Rejecters are shown to be high in complexity, but low in social integration and centralized authority. Adopters are relatively high on all three sets of variables. Theretical reasoning is provided to support the hypothesis and why these results are expected. The utility of these results and structural explanations in general are discussed, especially for public/environmental health planning and political activities.