‘There is a Time to be Born and a Time to Die’ (Ecclesiastes 3:2a): Jewish Perspectives on Euthanasia

Reviewing the publications of prominent American rabbis who have (extensively) published on Jewish biomedical ethics, this article highlights Orthodox, Conservative and Reform opinions on a most pressing contemporary bioethical issue: euthanasia. Reviewing their opinions against the background of the halachic character of Jewish (biomedical) ethics, this article shows how from one traditional Jewish textual source diverse, even contradictory, opinions emerge through different interpretations. In this way, in the Jewish debate on euthanasia the specific methodology of Jewish (bio)ethical reasoning comes forward as well as a diversity of opinion within Judaism and its branches

Imagining the other

This volume addresses the conceptualizations of the Other carried out by Western and Muslim societies historically and in contemporary times through empirical case studies

The Transition between the Old and New Traditional Economies in India

We extend Karl Polanyi's traditional economy concept to modern economies with advanced technology that are embedded in a traditional socio-cultural framework. This is the New Traditional economy, seen in parts of the Islamic world and with the Hindu nationalist movement in India. However, rural India is also the largest repository of the Old Traditional economy with its Hindu caste and jajmani system of reciprocal labour relations. The changes in India's complexly mixed economy, with its increasing market and strong planned elements, constitute a transition from the Old to the New Traditional economy. We shall consider this transition both ideologically and systemically. Comparative Economic Studies (2005) 47, 561–578. doi:10.1057/palgrave.ces.8100059