Taking Consumers Seriously: Two Concepts of Consumer Sovereignty

Governments, producers, and international free tradeorganizations like the World Trade Organization (WTO) areincreasingly confronted with consumers who not only buy (or don'tbuy) goods, but also demand that those goods are producedconforming to certain ethical (often diverse) standards. Not onlysafety and health belong to these ethical ideals, but animalwelfare, environmental concerns, labor circumstances, and fairtrade. However, this phantom haunts the dusty world of social andpolitical philosophy as well. The new concept ``consumersovereignty' bypasses the conceptual dichotomy of consumer andcitizen.According to the narrow liberal response to this newconstellation, with respect to food one should conceptualizeconsumer sovereignty as the right of the individual consumer toget information on food products and to make his or her ownchoice on the market of food products. In this conception, thereis a very strong emphasis on rules and principles with respect tothe autonomy of individuals.I argue that these narrow liberal concepts are not sufficient forappropriate public policy-making in democratic societies, andthat they only enable us to identify problems; they do not helpnon-experts (and experts, if it comes to that, as well) inweighing the different ethical claims. Besides, not onlyprinciples play a role in the outcome, but all kinds of ideals aswell, like roles, values, and norms. My principal argument isthat analysis or justification of norms or principles is notsufficient to get a synthesis or construction of ethicalsolutions: we need some value orientation to guide us inbalancing the different ethical claims by solving an ethicalproblem. Moreover, this balancing is something that requiressocial space and social time, i.e., public debates. With theconcept of public debates a whole new dimension enters ethicalanalysis, because the attention of ethicists shifts toformulating criteria of successful and rational public debates.However, in the broad liberal view these concepts aresupplemented with values, preferences, practices of care, andinvolvement. I argue firstly for a broadened perspective on foodas an integral part of life styles and not only as something thatpresents risks. That is the reason that food gets such intensiveattention from the public, which is summarized in the concept ofconsumer concerns. Secondly, I defend the argument that not only(rational) public debates, but intensive commitments of bothproducers and consumers in every link of the chain in so calledcare practices or consumer councils can enhance confidence in thefood production system and the way we extract our daily intakefrom nature.     

Partners under pressure: humanitarian action for the Syria crisis

Partnerships between organisations in humanitarian crisis situations generally are challenging, but at the apex are those established as part of remote management in a context of extreme insecurity. To date, little systematic research has been conducted on arrangements between local organisations that have access to crisis‐affected populations and international organisations that hold the purse strings. This paper presents the findings of nine months of qualitative research conducted with five Syrian local organisations and their international partners engaging in humanitarian action across the Turkey–Syria border, and presents insights into the components of successful partnerships. It redefines capacity along organisational and operational lines, and unpacks how monitoring and evaluation and donor requirements create tension and, at times, place local organisations at risk. The paper highlights the centrality of trust in successful partnerships, and describes the personalisation of the conflict by local organisations. Based on a historical case study of civil society in northern Iraq, it closes with some suggestions for long‐term sustainability.     

How transformational leadership influences follower helping behavior: The role of trust and prosocial motivation

We proposed and tested a moderated mediation model that jointly examines affect‐based and cognition‐based trust as the mediators and prosocial motivation as the moderator in relationships between transformational leadership and followers’ helping behavior towards coworkers. Data were collected from 348 sales and servicing employees and their supervisors in four private retail companies and five private manufacturing companies located in Southeast China. The results showed that both affect‐based trust and cognition‐based trust mediated the relationship between transformational leadership and followers’ helping behavior towards coworkers. Furthermore, moderated mediation analyses showed that affect‐based trust mediated the relationship between transformational leadership and followers’ helping behavior towards coworkers only among employees with high prosocial motivation, whereas cognition‐based trust mediated this relationship among only those with low prosocial motivation. Implications for the theory and practice of leadership are then discussed. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

ECO-ENGINEERING-THE CHALLENGE OF RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT1

It is presumed that the present environmental thrust is not a wholly transitory fad; that there will be a residual impact on American society which will demand greater consideration in the future of ecological and environmental values by resource developers and public works agencies. An example is cited to show the validity of the environmental thrust and the severe consequences of ignoring it under the present emphasis on this aspect of resource development. An attempt is made to understand some of the reasons for the dramatic change in public attitude toward the environment and opposition to projects of apparent benefit to society. It is suggested that basic changes in philosophy and concept will be necessary in the field of resource development. Some broad ecological and developmental guidelines are provided in the interest of implementing environmental considerations. Finally, those involved in resource development and public works are challenged to accept the concept of eco-engineering; a concept combining the competing elements of resource development and conservation.