Americans are expressing deep concern about US dependence on petroleum, rising energy prices and the threat of climate change. Unlike the energy crisis of the 1970s, however, there is a lurking fear that, now, the times are different and the crisis may not easily be resolved.
The Long Descent examines the basis of such fear through three core themes:
- Industrial society is following the same well-worn path that has led other civilizations into decline, a path involving a much slower and more complex transformation than the sudden catastrophes imagined by so many social critics today.
- The roots of the crisis lie in the cultural stories that shape the way we understand the world. Since problems cannot be solved with the same thinking that created thyem, these ways of thinking need to be replaced with others better suited to the needs of our time.
- It is too late for massive programs for top-down change; the change must come from individuals.
Hope exists in actions that range from taking up a handicraft or adopting an "obsolete" technology, through planting an organic vegetable garden, taking charge of your own health care or spirituality, and building community.
Focusing eloquently on constructive adaptation to massive change, this book will have wide appeal.
Authors
- Bibliography, etc. Note
- Includes bibliographical references and index
- Control Number Identifier
- CaOOCEL
- Dewey Decimal Classification Number
- 901
- Dewey Decimal Edition Number
- 22
- General Note
- Issued as part of the desLibris books collection
- ISBN
- 9781550923964 9780865716094
- LCCN
- CB161
- LCCN Item number
- G735 2008eb
- Modifying agency
- CaBNVSL
- Original cataloging agency
- CaOONL
- Physical Description | Extent
- 1 electronic text (xii, 259 p.)
- Publisher or Distributor Number
- CaOOCEL
- Rights
- Access restricted to authorized users and institutions
- System Control Number
- (CaBNVSL)slc00222780 (OCoLC)752531550 (CaOOCEL)431999
- System Details Note
- Mode of access: World Wide Web
- Transcribing agency
- CaOONL
Table of Contents
- Advance praise 2
- Title Page 6
- Rights Page 7
- Contents 8
- Preface 10
- Chapter 1: The End of the Industrial Age 14
- Chapter 2: The Stories We Tell Ourselves 48
- Chapter 3: Briefing for the Descent 86
- Chapter 4: Facing the Deindustrial Age 126
- Chapter 5: Tools for the Transition 170
- Chapter 6: The Spiritual Dimension 204
- Afterword 234
- Appendix: How Civilizations Fall: A Theory of Catabolic Collapse 238
- Bibliography 254
- Notes 262
- Index 268
- About the Author 272
