Evolution's Edge

This brilliant book is a big-picture synthesis of the new curriculum for activists, educators, social and systems entrepreneurs, planners, and “community organizers” at all levels. It’s called Evolution’s Edge: The Coming Collapse and Transformation of our World by Graeme Taylor. $24.95 in paperback from New Society publishers.

It’s now five minutes to midnight on the doomsday clock, reflecting the fact that we are closer to assuring the obliteration of our species than we have been at any time since the early eighties. We are rapidly approaching a tipping point, where we will either transform our violent, exploitative global system into a peaceful, cooperative one, or enter a catastrophic decline.

Evolution’s Edge shows that limitless economic expansion is impossible on a finite planet. Our growth-based global system will collapse as critical resources become scarce and major ecosystems fail. However, new ideas, values, and technologies can help us avoid disaster and create a better world. Using evolutionary systems theory, Evolution’s Edge explains how societies evolve and why rapid, nonlinear change is not only possible but inevitable. It describes:
* Collapse—how cascading crises will soon provoke system failure
* Transformation—how emerging technologies, ideas, values, and social organizations are supporting the evolution of a sustainable system
* Analysis—how societies evolve into increasingly complex, conscious systems
* Action—how a common, cooperative vision can accelerate constructive global change.

“We examine emerging technologies, ideas, values and social organizations; we analyze their role in supporting the revolution of a sustainable system. We then analyze the major developing global trends and probably future scenarios…

We explain how we can change destructive behaviors and empower ourselves and our social networks… Evolution’s Edge provides a rough map of the terrain that humanity will have to cross on the way to a sustainable future.”

Evolution’s Edge is vital reading for activists, educators, progressive thinkers, and anyone concerned about the state of our world. A visually pleasing book, its generous use of graphs and charts make clear concepts such as our evolutionary footprint, projected climate change impacts, world population and economic growth.

“Evolution’s Edge is simply outstanding—easy to read, inspiring, thoughtful. Its ability to integrate environmental challenges with spiritual issues, technological possibilities and systems evolutionary theory is fantastic.” —Sohail Inayatullah, editor, Journal of Future Studies

Graeme Taylor is coordinator of BEST Futures (www.bestfutures.org): sustainable solutions through researching how societies change and evolve