Still Dying for a Living

Steven Bittle’s text is remarkable for being both a forensic dissection of a specific piece of legislation – the Westray Bill – within the context of a specific social issue, corporate manslaughter, while at the same time offering a broader analysis of the ways in which power is exercised in contemporary capitalist economies. Still Dying for a Living is a painstakingly researched and powerfully argued key to understanding our anti-regulatory times. Its analysis and conclusions span national borders and legal cultures. Steve Tombs, Professor of Sociology, School of Humanities and Social Science, John Moores University, Liverpool, UK

This book is timely and needed. Steven Bittle shines light upon the political ‘solution’ to worker demands for greater protection in the workplace and carefully documents the ways in which these demands are sidetracked, both by the dominant legal discourse and by political manoeuvring. Bob Barnetson is a professor of labour relations at Athabasca University and the author of The Political Economy of Workplace Injury in Canada

Bittle examines the aftermath of the Westray disaster to deal with one of the more intriguing problems criminal lawyers, criminologists, and sociologists face. Still Dying for a Living not only tells an interesting story about a drama worthy of public attention, but it also explains how we make laws, how political forces coalesce and confront each other, and how the dominant relations of production contour law making. A well-written and fine contribution to a relatively unexplored field. Harry Glasbeek is a professor emeritus at Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, and the author of Wealth by Stealth: Corporate Crime, Corporate Law, and the Perversion of Democracy