Surviving the Future: Culture, Carnival and Capital in the Aftermath of the Market Economy

Fleming, David

ISBN 10: 1603586466 / ISBN 13: 9781603586467

Published by Chelsea Green, 2016

Item in good condition. Textbooks may not include supplemental items i.e. CDs, access codes etc. Seller Inventory # 00096696612

Synopsis:

Surviving the Future is a story drawn from the fertile ground of the late David Fleming's extraordinary Lean Logic: A Dictionary for the Future and How to Survive It. That hardback consists of four hundred and four interlinked dictionary entries, inviting readers to choose their own path through its radical vision.

Recognizing that Lean Logic's sheer size and unusual structure can be daunting, Fleming's long-time collaborator Shaun Chamberlin has selected and edited one of these potential narratives to create Surviving the Future. The content, rare insights, and uniquely enjoyably writing style remain Fleming's, but are presented here at a more accessible paperback-length and in conventional read-it-front-to-back format.

The subtitle - Culture, Carnival and Capital in the Aftermath of the Market Economy - hints at Fleming's vision. He believed that the market economy will not survive its inherent flaws beyond the early decades of this century, and that its failure will bring great challenges, but he did not dwell on this: "We know what we need to do. We need to build the sequel, to draw on inspiration which has lain dormant, like the seed beneath the snow."

Surviving the Future lays out a compelling and powerfully different new economics for a post-growth world. One that relies not on taut competitiveness and eternally increasing productivity - "putting the grim into reality" - but on the play, humour, conversation, and reciprocal obligations of a rich culture. Building on a remarkable breadth of intellectual and cultural heritage - from Keynes to Kumar, Homer to Huxley, Mumford to MacIntyre, Scruton to Shiva, Shakespeare to Schumacher - Fleming describes a world in which, as he says, "there will be time for music".

This is the world that many of us want to live in, yet we are told it is idealistic and unrealistic. With an evident mastery of both economic theory and historical precedent, Fleming shows that it is not only desirable, but actually the only system with a realistic claim to longevity. With friendliness, humour, and charm, Surviving the Future plucks this vision out of our daydreams and shows us how to make it real.

About the Author: Dr. David Fleming (1940 2010) was a visionary thinker and writer who played significant roles in the genesis of the UK Green Party, the Transition Towns movement, and the New Economics Foundation, as well as chairing the Soil Association.He was also one of the early whistle-blowers on oil depletion and designer of the influential TEQs carbon/energy rationing system.He acquired a PhD in economics in 1988, in order to better engage with and confound the mainstream, but his true passion and genius was for understanding that diverse and mysterious thing community. Lean Logic was the work of over thirty years.

Shaun Chamberlin has been involved with the Transition Network since its inception, cofounding Transition Town Kingston and authoring the movement s second book, The Transition Timeline. He is managing director of the Fleming Policy Centre and former chair of the Ecological Land Co-operative, and has spoken at venues ranging from Occupy camps to parliaments.In exploring the cultural narratives charting society s course he has written for or edited a diverse range of books, magazines, academic journals, and other publications, including coauthoring a significant UK All Party Parliamentary report with his close friend and regular collaborator David Fleming.His website is www.darkoptimism.org.

Rob Hopkins is the co-founder of Transition Town Totnes and of the Transition Network. This grew out of many years experience in education, teaching permaculture and natural building, and setting up the first two-year full-time permaculture course in the world, as well as co-ordinating the first eco-village development in Ireland to be granted planning permission. He is author of The Transition Handbook (2008), The Transition Companion (2011), The Power of Just Doing Stuff (2013) and 21 Stories of Transition (2015), served 3 years as a Trustee of the Soil Association, and was named by the Independent as one of the UK s top 100 environmentalists. He lives in Devon and grows food for his family.

Bibliographic Details

Title: Surviving the Future: Culture, Carnival and ...
Publisher: Chelsea Green
Publication Date: 2016
Binding: Soft cover
Condition: Good