John Hilary – författare

The first published account of the German-Jewish magnates who won an international reputation as the leading art collectors of Edwardian BritainThe small but conspicuous group of German-Jewish magnates who settled in fin-de-siècle Britain filled their homes with the finest paintings, tapestries and decorative artworks that money could buy. Their high-profile acts of philanthropy and cultural patronage earned them public honours and popular esteem, establishing them within the most exalted ranks of Edwardian society. Yet their loyalties were called into question during the dark days of the First World War and their collections dispersed after their deaths, so that their presence has been largely written out of art history.Magnates and Masterpieces is the first publication to explore the contribution made by German-Jewish collectors to the art scene in Edwardian Britain and beyond. As well as reconstructing their spectacular collections, the book uncovers the ideals and aspirations that the collectors brought with them from their New Humanist upbringing in Germany, most notably a belief in the power of art to enrich the soul. Lavishly illustrated and drawing on previously unseen archives, Magnates and Masterpieces restores the German-Jewish collectors of Edwardian Britain to their rightful place in twentieth-century cultural history.

‘Free trade’ strategies have increasingly become a problem for the international labour movement. While trade unions in the North especially in manufacturing have supported free trade agreements to secure export markets for their companies, trade unions in the Global South oppose these agreements, since they often imply deindustrialisation. Especially the expansion of the free trade agenda into services, public procurement, investment, intellectual property rights as well as investor to state dispute settlement provisions are considered to be problematic. The purpose of this volume is to understand better these dynamics underlying ‘free trade’ policy-making in order to explore possibilities for transnational labour solidarity. Bringing together labour academics with trade union researchers and social movement activists, this volume moves from conceptual reflections about the impact of ‘free trade’ via the analysis of struggles around free trade agreements to considerations of concrete alternatives.This book was published as a special issue of Globalizations.

Capitalist growth is widely heralded as the only answer to the crisis still sweeping the global economy. Yet the era of corporate globalisation has been defined by unprecedented levels of inequality and environmental degradation. A return to capitalist growth threatens to exacerbate these problems, not solve them.In The Poverty of Capitalism, John Hilary reveals the true face of transnational capital in its insatiable drive for expansion and accumulation. He exposes the myth of 'corporate social responsibility' (CSR), and highlights key areas of conflict over natural resources, labour rights and food sovereignty.Hilary also describes the growing popular resistance to corporate power, as well as the new social movements seeking to develop alternatives to capitalism itself. This book will be essential reading for all those concerned with global justice, human rights and equity in the world order.