Green politics and environmental ethics: A defence of human welfare ecology

A major strand of environmentalist thought identifies the supposedly anthropocentric foundations of Western attitudes to nature as a fundamental cause of the environmental crisis. On the basis of this analysis they suggest that the development and widespread acceptance of a ‘biocentric’ or ‘ecocentric’ ethos is a primary requirement for the ultimate development of an ecologically benign society. This view can be questioned for a number of reasons. The causal significance of anthropocentrism is not as clear as had been supposed, attempts to formulate such an ethos have failed on logical or ethical grounds, and it is possible to put forward a fully developed environmentalist position which remains anthropocentric. What has been called ‘human welfare ecology’ has the potential to provide a more coherent, developed and politic eco‐political theory than attempts to base such a theory on a ‘biocentric’ or ‘ecocentric’ ethos.     

A REGIONAL CONSUMER DEMAND MODEL FOR NEW ZEALAND*

ABSTRACT. This paper discusses the formulation and estimation of sets of demand systems for six New Zealand regions. The chosen model is based on the Linear Expenditure System, constrained in various ways to take account of interregional differences in consumer behaviour. Our results suggest that income and price elasticities of demand vary significantly between regions, suggesting that regional employment and output patterns are likely to differ in their responses to changes in aggregate demand.     

IRON IN ANCIENT COPPER

Analysis of early copper-base artifacts invariably reveals traces of iron. Iron enters the copper during the smelting process and the level of iron in the metalwork is an indication of the smelting technology. In areas such as Western Europe where prehistoric slag heaps are absent even in the proximity of undoubted ancient mines, the iron content is low reinforcing the link between smelting technology and iron content. Very occasionally the iron content was deliberately encouraged and alloys containing between 30% and 50% of iron in copper were made, mainly for use in currency. These alloys are without modern parallel and their metallography and method of production are considered in some detail here.     

Book Reviews

Understanding the Southern African Crises

Paul Keal, Unspoken Rules and Superpower Dominance. Macmillan, London, 1983, pp.262. $48.00

Roger Hilsman, The Politics of Policy Making in Defense and Foreign Affairs: Conceptual Models and Bureaucratic Politics. Prentice Hall, New Jersey, 1987, pp.ix,326. $42.50.

Benjamin B. Ferencz, A Common Sense Guide to World Peace. Oceana, New York, 1985, pp. xvi + 112. $US15.00.

United Nations, Department of Public Information, The Blue Helmets: A Review of United Nations Peace‐keeping. United Nations, New York, 1985, pp. 361. $US8.96.

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, The History of UNCTAD 1964–1984. United Nations, New York, 1985, pp. 294.$US5.00.

United Nations, Department for Disarmament Affairs, Co‐ordination and World Disarmament Campaign Section, The United Nations and Disarmament: 1945–1985. United Nations, New York, 1985, pp. 166.$US16.95.

Chris Bellamy, The Future of Land Warfare. Croom Helm, London and Sydney, 1987, pp.xv+326. £29.95.

John Prados, The Soviet Estimate: U.S. Intelligence Analysis & Soviet Strategic Forces. Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J., 1986, pp.xvi+391. $24.00.

J.W.C. Cumes, The Reconstruction of the World Economy. Longman Cheshire, Melbourne, 1984, pp. 181 $6.91.

Commonwealth Secretariat, Towards a New Bretton Woods: Challenges for the World Financial and Trading System, Report by a Commonwealth Study Group. Longman for the Commonwealth Secretariat, London, 1983, pp. xii + 148. $ 12.95.

Peter Hayes, Lyuba Zarsky and Walden Bello, American Lake. Penguin Books, Ringwood, Victoria, 1986, pp.xiv, 529. $14.95.

A.G. Milner and Trevor Wilson (eds), Australian Diplomacy: Challenges and Options for the Department of Foreign Affairs. AIIA Occasional Paper No. 5, August 1987, pp. 90. $4.50.