000			02404nam a2200205 a 4500
001			062596
005			20231009193131.0
008			120906t2004----nyu-----------000-u-eng-u
020			_a9780887842061
082	0		_a303.44 WRI
100	1		_aWright, Ronald _d, 1948-
245	1	0	_aA short history of progress _c/ Ronald Wright
260			_aToronto, Canada _b: House of Anansi Press, Inc. _c, c2004.
300			_a211 p. _c; 25 cm.
520			_aProgress can do us in, or so argues British historian Wright as he embarks on a lively if meandering journey through the development and demise of ancient civilizations to determine whether our current one is doomed. By reading the "black boxes" left by departed societies (like those of the Easter Islanders, the Sumerians, and the Mayans), we can learn to avoid the mistakes that led to their downfall, he suggests. Many of those errors revolve around the plundering of natural resources and the development of social hierarchies that allow elite groups to indulge in over-consumption at the expense of the masses. Other errors involve "progress traps," technologies or advances that, like weapons, are initially useful but become dangerous to civilization once fully developed, especially if moral and technical progress diverge. The analogy of civilization as a kind a "pyramid scheme," which, like the sales scheme, thrives only if it grows, is one of several imaginative mnemonic devices Wright uses to round out his argument. Today's culprit, he declares, is "market extremism," which has "cross-bred with evangelical messianism to fight intelligent policy on metaphysical grounds." This laissez-faire capitalism, he reasons, will spell the end of the planet, and our civilization, if it is not controlled. Wright crafts an entertaining tale of eras gone by, incorporating relevant facts on subjects as diverse as the lifestyles of early hominids and recent patterns of climate change, and demonstrating the holistic importance of natural resources to a society. And if he never specifies exactly what the proper choices for modern civilization are, or how they will bring deliverance from the coming storm, his book will nonetheless convince readers that we are at a crossroads where the right choices can still be made.
650		4	_aProgress _x- History
650		4	_aCivilization _x-History
650		4	_aEnvironmental degradation
942			_cMO
999			_c261544 _d261544