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A User's Guide to the Crisis of Civilization: And How to Save It
It often seems that different crises are competing to devastate civilisation. This book argues that financial meltdown, dwindling oil reserves, terrorism and food shortages need to be considered as part of the same ailing system.
Most accounts of our contemporary global crises such as climate change, or the threat of terrorism, focus on one area, or another, to the exclusion of others. Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed argues that the unwillingness of experts to look outside their own fields explains why there is so much disagreement and misunderstanding about particular crises. This book attempts to investigate all of these crises, not as isolated events, but as trends and processes that belong to a single global system. We are therefore not dealing with a 'clash of civilisations', as Huntington argued. Rather, we are dealing with a fundamental crisis of civilisation itself.
This book provides a stark warning of the consequences of failing to take a broad view of the problems facing the world and shows how catastrophe can be avoided.
Most accounts of our contemporary global crises such as climate change, or the threat of terrorism, focus on one area, or another, to the exclusion of others. Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed argues that the unwillingness of experts to look outside their own fields explains why there is so much disagreement and misunderstanding about particular crises. This book attempts to investigate all of these crises, not as isolated events, but as trends and processes that belong to a single global system. We are therefore not dealing with a 'clash of civilisations', as Huntington argued. Rather, we are dealing with a fundamental crisis of civilisation itself.
This book provides a stark warning of the consequences of failing to take a broad view of the problems facing the world and shows how catastrophe can be avoided.
312 pages, Paperback
First published August 6, 2010
6 people are currently reading
164 people want to read
About the author
Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed
12 books65 followersNafeez Ahmed is an investigative journalist, bestselling author and international security scholar. He is the author of the forthcoming science fiction thriller, ZERO POINT.
Nafeez is an environment writer for The Guardian, the world's third most popular newspaper website, reporting on the geopolitics of interconnected environmental, energy and economic crises via his Earth Insight blog.
Nafeez has also written for the Independent on sunday, The Independent, The Scotsman, Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Huffington Post, Foreign Policy, Le Monde diplomatique, The New Statesman, and Prospect Magazine, among others.
His journalistic work combines insider information from senior government, intelligence, industry and other sources with interdisciplinary analysis of specialist literature.
Nafeez is co-producer, writer and presenter of the critically-acclaimed documentary feature film, the crisis of civilization (2011), adapted from his non-fiction book, a user’s guide to the crisis of civilization: and how to save it (pluto, macmillan, 2010). The film was endorsed by BAFTA lifetime award-winning filmmaker Nick Broomfield
He is the bestselling author of The War on Freedom: How & Why America was Attacked: September 11, 2001, which won him the Naples Prize, Italy’s most prestigious literary award, in 2003. The War on Freedom (2002), the first book to critique the official narrative of 9/11, was described by Gore Vidal in the London Observer as “the best, most balanced, analysis of 9/11”.
The book is archived in the ‘9/11 commission materials’ special collection at the US National Archives in Washington DC – it was among 99 books made available to each 9/11 commissioner of the national commission on terrorist attacks upon the united states to use during their investigations.
Nafeez’s other books include The London Bombings: An Independent Inquiry (2006), which has been profiled in the Independent on Sunday and Sunday Times; The War on Truth: 9/11, Disinformation and the Anatomy of Terrorism (2005); (2003).
His latest non-fiction book, A User's Guide to the Crisis of Civilization: And How to Save It (2010) is a peer-reviewed academic study of the interconnections between climate change, energy depletion, food scarcity, economic meltdown, terrorism, the police-state, and war.
Nafeez and his writings are cited and reviewed in the New York times (Thomas Friedman), Sunday Times (Bryan Appleyard), Times Higher Educational Supplement, The Guardian (Steven Poole), The Independent (Yasmin Alibhai Brown), The observer (Gore Vidal), Big Issue Magazine, Vanity Fair (Christopher Hitchens), among other publications
Nafeez lives in London with his wife and children, plays guitar, and writes music in his spare time.
Nafeez is an environment writer for The Guardian, the world's third most popular newspaper website, reporting on the geopolitics of interconnected environmental, energy and economic crises via his Earth Insight blog.
Nafeez has also written for the Independent on sunday, The Independent, The Scotsman, Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Huffington Post, Foreign Policy, Le Monde diplomatique, The New Statesman, and Prospect Magazine, among others.
His journalistic work combines insider information from senior government, intelligence, industry and other sources with interdisciplinary analysis of specialist literature.
Nafeez is co-producer, writer and presenter of the critically-acclaimed documentary feature film, the crisis of civilization (2011), adapted from his non-fiction book, a user’s guide to the crisis of civilization: and how to save it (pluto, macmillan, 2010). The film was endorsed by BAFTA lifetime award-winning filmmaker Nick Broomfield
He is the bestselling author of The War on Freedom: How & Why America was Attacked: September 11, 2001, which won him the Naples Prize, Italy’s most prestigious literary award, in 2003. The War on Freedom (2002), the first book to critique the official narrative of 9/11, was described by Gore Vidal in the London Observer as “the best, most balanced, analysis of 9/11”.
The book is archived in the ‘9/11 commission materials’ special collection at the US National Archives in Washington DC – it was among 99 books made available to each 9/11 commissioner of the national commission on terrorist attacks upon the united states to use during their investigations.
Nafeez’s other books include The London Bombings: An Independent Inquiry (2006), which has been profiled in the Independent on Sunday and Sunday Times; The War on Truth: 9/11, Disinformation and the Anatomy of Terrorism (2005); (2003).
His latest non-fiction book, A User's Guide to the Crisis of Civilization: And How to Save It (2010) is a peer-reviewed academic study of the interconnections between climate change, energy depletion, food scarcity, economic meltdown, terrorism, the police-state, and war.
Nafeez and his writings are cited and reviewed in the New York times (Thomas Friedman), Sunday Times (Bryan Appleyard), Times Higher Educational Supplement, The Guardian (Steven Poole), The Independent (Yasmin Alibhai Brown), The observer (Gore Vidal), Big Issue Magazine, Vanity Fair (Christopher Hitchens), among other publications
Nafeez lives in London with his wife and children, plays guitar, and writes music in his spare time.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 17, 2013
Ahmed is a really smart young guy up in canada who is really respected for his ability to make sense out of the american imperial project. the best part of this book are the chapters on international terrorism and the militarization tendency. he shows how americans are now deemed terrorists even when they are exclusively involved in non-violent protest. insane right? the us government is prepping for crowd control and removing remaining rights for when the economy collapses and Ahmed is there to help you understand why. he'll show you how the us government's first role is unimpeded access to "developing markets throughout the world" and to ensure " the resources needed to support our manufacturing requirements". to hell with everyone else on the planet, our job is to continue use force to always be the first in line for whatever the world makes. democrats and republicans work together today to support every war through cheerleading or total silence to increase to the voice of the corporations who pay for their campaigns and to kill the voice of the people who want peace and community more than consumables and weaponry purchased only through the continued misery of those forced to work for us for pennies after they are forcibly removed from the commons and forced to join the global workforce. as the north continues to marginalize the people of the south at the point of a gun we need to keep the south from complaining too loudly and disturbing our large calorie laden suppers at their expense. Ahmed lets you in on all the little secrets and helps you see through the eyes of the elites so you can plan your future in a way that others listening only to the US cheerleader press could never do. whose side are you on? the corporations? or the people? that depends largely on whether you are a sociopath or just a regular well meaning but flawed human like the rest of us.
December 2, 2014
Ahmed discusses the imminent crises of Climate Change, Energy Scarcity, Food Insecurity, Economic Instability, and Militarization. While on some of these issues he spends a lot of time, referencing many studies and dealing with counter-arguments, several points are not dealt with in as thorough a manner. For instance, fast-breeder reactors are dismissed in one paragraph with reference to only one opinion, and nuclear power is dismissed as a viable energy supply to take over (some of) the burden from hydrocarbons without any discussion of thorium reactors. Renewable sources are let off lightly with their drawbacks glossed over. Despite agreeing with Ahmed on many points I found this sporadic lack of rigour disappointing: what else has been ignored or swept under the rug?
Another issue was that I felt Ahmed's biases influenced his project unduly. His preconceptions seem to blind him from looking for alternative solutions, since these may not be in agreement with his politics. As far as the '...and How to Save It' part of the book, this occupies the final 10 pages (less than 4%) and is less a blueprint than vague hand-waving in a general direction. Certain of his suggestions are so utopian as to be completely unrealistic, for instance: '...the welfare of others will literally be equivalent to the welfare of the individual...' which completely ignores the nature of humanity. While we can aspire to this lofty goal, no more than a few exceptional individuals could actually put this into practice.
A final pet peeve of mine was his use of "therefore". Most of the time this word was used it actually disguised the fact that what was to come did not follow from what had just been established. I found myself constantly saying "but what about..." whenever Ahmed used "therefore" to move onto the next point.
If you read it, keep a critical mind or you may find yourself agreeing simply because the text doesn't allow an alternative rather than because of the strength of the arguments.
Another issue was that I felt Ahmed's biases influenced his project unduly. His preconceptions seem to blind him from looking for alternative solutions, since these may not be in agreement with his politics. As far as the '...and How to Save It' part of the book, this occupies the final 10 pages (less than 4%) and is less a blueprint than vague hand-waving in a general direction. Certain of his suggestions are so utopian as to be completely unrealistic, for instance: '...the welfare of others will literally be equivalent to the welfare of the individual...' which completely ignores the nature of humanity. While we can aspire to this lofty goal, no more than a few exceptional individuals could actually put this into practice.
A final pet peeve of mine was his use of "therefore". Most of the time this word was used it actually disguised the fact that what was to come did not follow from what had just been established. I found myself constantly saying "but what about..." whenever Ahmed used "therefore" to move onto the next point.
If you read it, keep a critical mind or you may find yourself agreeing simply because the text doesn't allow an alternative rather than because of the strength of the arguments.
January 3, 2022
I read this book when it was first published in 2012...and it scared the living bejeezus out of me.
I knew about global warming, but his first chapter made it so much more visceral. And realizing then that no action is being done it was all the more scary...as the worst case scenario seems likely.
It spurred my curiosity and lead me to reading hundreds of books about every aspect of Global warming , from increasing ocean temperatures, wildfires, public intervention, globalization, monocrops, carbon cycle, weather patterns, poverty and ecocide ++++. What I learned on this journey of exploration was almost exclusively negative, but I somehow managed to distance myself emotionally from these topics.
So the first chapter changed my understanding of the world. The following chapters are also enjoyable, but it is quite a heavy read at times, it could have been made more palatable for non-scientists.
I knew about global warming, but his first chapter made it so much more visceral. And realizing then that no action is being done it was all the more scary...as the worst case scenario seems likely.
It spurred my curiosity and lead me to reading hundreds of books about every aspect of Global warming , from increasing ocean temperatures, wildfires, public intervention, globalization, monocrops, carbon cycle, weather patterns, poverty and ecocide ++++. What I learned on this journey of exploration was almost exclusively negative, but I somehow managed to distance myself emotionally from these topics.
So the first chapter changed my understanding of the world. The following chapters are also enjoyable, but it is quite a heavy read at times, it could have been made more palatable for non-scientists.
December 14, 2010
This book discusses climate change, peak oil, food insecurity, and economic instability, which he views as all manifestations of a single underlying phenomenon. And to top it off, he throws in international terrorism and the tendency towards militarization. This single underlying phenomenon behind all these problems is the global industrial economy.
The single strongest point of the book is his emphasis on structural issues. He's not content to say merely, "hey, climate change, it's a serious problem!" He goes into why it is a serious problem, different from other problems we have faced in the past, because at root it is a problem with the way our economy is set up, and the way our economy is set up has other serious manifestations. "To be radical is to grasp things at the root," said Marx, and Ahmed strives to do just that.
Speaking of Marx, Ahmed discusses Marx very sympathetically quite a bit. He sees clearly that the failure of Soviet Communism means that we cannot just use the Soviet model to solve the world's problems. Marx did not really have a concept of ecological limits (he criticized Malthus at length), but his theory could be understood as pointing in that direction. Exploitation of the working class and exploitation of nature are the same basic phenomenon.
His analysis of climate change was quite interesting; he seems to think that the situation is substantially worse than even the standard pessimists have said -- we are on the way to global extinction of all life on earth by the end of the century. His discussion of peak oil covers all the bases: the Hubbert curve, the export land model, etc. If you are a fan of "TheOilDrum.com" you won't find any surprises here.
The discussion of food was good, and showed once again that he looks for underlying economic causes of our food crisis, although he does not discuss some of the more nitty-gritty issues, like water pollution, soil erosion, eating high on the food chain, that kind of thing . I reviewed Julian Cribb's book "The Coming Famine" and complained about the fact that he doesn't discuss the underlying structural issues; Cribb's book is a good counterpart to Ahmed's treatment of the food issue. Cribb does talk about the nitty gritty but doesn't talk very much about the economics of the situation, and Ahmed has reversed this.
The main weak point is that it is all about structural problems, but what are the structural approaches to deal with these problems? His final chapter does contain some general conclusions, but they are quite vague and sometimes questionable. Sample: "Economic growth should be directed not at unlimited growth for its own sake, but at sustainable growth for the specific purpose of catering to the needs of the majority." And that's about as specific as he gets, and even this statement could be criticized -- I mean, is sustainable growth even possible given everything he's documented about the destruction of the environment? Aren't there, like, "limits to growth"?
So we still do not have policies, programs, practical things that society could do if it were willing. Where are the "steady state economy" and the "ecological economics" people? But in terms of the "problem" side of the equation, this is the best single-volume account of why our current crisis is a crisis both more serious, and completely unlike any other that humans have ever faced.
The single strongest point of the book is his emphasis on structural issues. He's not content to say merely, "hey, climate change, it's a serious problem!" He goes into why it is a serious problem, different from other problems we have faced in the past, because at root it is a problem with the way our economy is set up, and the way our economy is set up has other serious manifestations. "To be radical is to grasp things at the root," said Marx, and Ahmed strives to do just that.
Speaking of Marx, Ahmed discusses Marx very sympathetically quite a bit. He sees clearly that the failure of Soviet Communism means that we cannot just use the Soviet model to solve the world's problems. Marx did not really have a concept of ecological limits (he criticized Malthus at length), but his theory could be understood as pointing in that direction. Exploitation of the working class and exploitation of nature are the same basic phenomenon.
His analysis of climate change was quite interesting; he seems to think that the situation is substantially worse than even the standard pessimists have said -- we are on the way to global extinction of all life on earth by the end of the century. His discussion of peak oil covers all the bases: the Hubbert curve, the export land model, etc. If you are a fan of "TheOilDrum.com" you won't find any surprises here.
The discussion of food was good, and showed once again that he looks for underlying economic causes of our food crisis, although he does not discuss some of the more nitty-gritty issues, like water pollution, soil erosion, eating high on the food chain, that kind of thing . I reviewed Julian Cribb's book "The Coming Famine" and complained about the fact that he doesn't discuss the underlying structural issues; Cribb's book is a good counterpart to Ahmed's treatment of the food issue. Cribb does talk about the nitty gritty but doesn't talk very much about the economics of the situation, and Ahmed has reversed this.
The main weak point is that it is all about structural problems, but what are the structural approaches to deal with these problems? His final chapter does contain some general conclusions, but they are quite vague and sometimes questionable. Sample: "Economic growth should be directed not at unlimited growth for its own sake, but at sustainable growth for the specific purpose of catering to the needs of the majority." And that's about as specific as he gets, and even this statement could be criticized -- I mean, is sustainable growth even possible given everything he's documented about the destruction of the environment? Aren't there, like, "limits to growth"?
So we still do not have policies, programs, practical things that society could do if it were willing. Where are the "steady state economy" and the "ecological economics" people? But in terms of the "problem" side of the equation, this is the best single-volume account of why our current crisis is a crisis both more serious, and completely unlike any other that humans have ever faced.
November 11, 2013
Although I agree with a lot of the points, I was disappointed that this book contained so many political undertones and seemed to lack objectivity. The next to last chapter was definitely the highlight of the book where the preceding buildup culminated in several thought provoking observations about the global political economy. The last chapter proposed a set of far fetched solutions without any indication of how to gain traction on them. I'd love to read some ideas on realistically how to change the status quo! I suggest John Michael Greer's more objective and pragmatic approach to this topic as a better alternative.
Want to read
November 18, 2012Found on The Oil Drum. Looks very good!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews