As previous reviewers note, the insight & deep cultural analysis of this book is matched only by how much it's been unjustly ignored & forgotten in the decades since its publication in 1978. Here is where Roszak extended the work of his seminal "The Making of a Counter-Culture" & "Where the Wasteland Ends" to examine the necessary & vital link between personal ecology -- authenticity, personal meaning, transcendent vision -- and the ecology of the planet. In fact, this book is about nothing less than the primal intertwining of those two ecologies, and the urgency of dismantling the current system of financial, military, consumerist power ... and nearly 40 years later, we see the dismal result of that path not taken.
If there's anything that defines the world today, it's fear. Riven by fundamentalism, fanaticism, rapacious greed, increasingly consolidated control in the hands of a few, and the cowardice of willful ignorance & burying one's head in digital distractions -- this is the world created by a belief in unlimited growth & the illusion of endless progress. Rosazk, like many others, saw where this must end. We're seeing it now. What he proposed was a different way of life, deeper than social or political programs (however vital) -- a worldview based on humility, understanding, and finding meaning by becoming whole human beings, rather than the shallow imitations that crowd the media & the streets today. A worldview based on discovering the true self, rather than the narcissism of the selfie.
The most pessimistic (they would say, realistic) fear that it's already too late. Perhaps it is. So many people are so addicted to materialism, money, status, violence, etc., that they'll have to hit bottom before they can begin to recover ... except that hitting bottom sometimes means death. One thing is clear: if humanity is to survive as humane, it must change its way of life & guiding beliefs, right down to the core, and embrace something more positive & nourishing than our current model of "success", such as it is. This is why Roszak's writing is still so relevant today & worth revisiting in depth. Otherwise humanity will most likely die with the most toys & call that "winning" -- we need to do far better than that, and soon.
Most highly recommended!
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