Two interesting books have recently been published by Carl Ratner, director of the Institute for Cultural Research and Education. The first, Macro Cultural Psychology, a Political Philosophy of Mind, explains how macro cultural factors are the cornerstones of society and how they form the origins and characteristics of psychological phenomena. In doing so it articulates a systematic political philosophy of mind and utilizes this to examine current issues and approaches to psychology.

In Cooperation, Community, and Co-Ops in a Global Era, Ratner argues for a societal paradigm shift and details how such a transformation might be accomplished. Taking the evolutionary long view, he demonstrates how cooperative principles can make a social system not just more efficient and less wasteful of time and resources, but also more democratic, empowering, and fulfilling for everyone involved.

Carl Ratner, Macro Cultural Psychology, a Political Philosophy of Mind. Oxford University Press, 2011. 544 pp. ISBN 978-0-195-37354-7

Carl Ratner, Cooperation, Community, and Co-Ops in a Global Era. Springer, 2012. 245 pp. ISBN 978-1-461-45824-1