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A review by lauren_endnotes
The Collapse of Western Civilization: A View from the Future by Erik Conway, Naomi Oreskes
4.0
It is 2393 - the 300th anniversary of The Great Collapse of 2093. Our unnamed presenter, a historian in the Second People's Republic of China, retraces the steps that led to the Collapse, The Penumbra Period (1988-2093), and the intervening years since that fateful time. Pointing to the clear warnings and obvious "effects of the anthropogenic interference in the climate system", many still discount or flat out denied what was happening.
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This speculative essay, written by two historians of science, poses this future scenario as the ultimate cautionary tale. There are maps of the current world of 2393, where cities are now underwater, the second Black Plague has occurred, economic markets have failed, boundaries and borders are erased, and populations have migrated inland, away from the coasts.
In light of the recent US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement (and the subsequent state and corporate leadership to continue/exceed the outlines of the agreement), this is a timely read. Then again, it's been a timely read for my entire life...
Oreskes and Conway could have made this much more than a short essay, there is plenty to go on, but the framing device of future historian looking back was quite effective.
--
This speculative essay, written by two historians of science, poses this future scenario as the ultimate cautionary tale. There are maps of the current world of 2393, where cities are now underwater, the second Black Plague has occurred, economic markets have failed, boundaries and borders are erased, and populations have migrated inland, away from the coasts.
In light of the recent US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement (and the subsequent state and corporate leadership to continue/exceed the outlines of the agreement), this is a timely read. Then again, it's been a timely read for my entire life...
Oreskes and Conway could have made this much more than a short essay, there is plenty to go on, but the framing device of future historian looking back was quite effective.