tgbuk24 interests

This is in many ways an excellent book, packed with information and ideas. Its central focus is to describe the Anthropocene, but the book, in working towards a definition of the period, both in terms of the criteria that justify it as a bonafide geological epoch and thus its timescale, touches on many interesting areas of the history of the Earth and the development of humankind as well as the formalities of geology and geological periods. There are some very clear diagrams which would serve as good points of reference, valid beyond the specific narrative of the book. 

In ‘The Great Rethink,’ Colin Tudge embarks on a penetrating dissection of our current predicament, setting forth an ambitious manifesto for a balanced political, cultural and ecological life. The book certainly provides a good primer on the state of our society and its impact on the natural world. Combining his encyclopaedic intellect with a down-to-earth moral sensibility, Tudge lays bare the mismatch of current politics, culture and industry with a truly sustainable economy. 

He brings together sharp logic and real compassion to arrive at this manifesto for a better future. The structural logic, typical of Tudge, is set out in a diagram on the cover of the book (based on his own scribbled synopsis) that really sums up the rationale behind his approach. His formula for human success in the future is encapsulated in the statement of the goal of ‘a convivial society within a flourishing biosphere’. There is not much to argue against here, though our society seems intent on rushing in an opposite direction. 

This is a very interesting book that takes a unique view of society and the difficulties it faces––still. It shouldn’t be confused with E F Schumacher’s ‘Small is Beautiful’ which, when it was published took a new look at economics. However the similarity in title of the two books is matched by a similarity of subtitle. Schumacher’s is ‘a study of economics as if people mattered’, whereas Papworth’s is ‘the future as if people really mattered’. Clearly there is influence here, as Schumacher’s book was published in 1973 and Papworth’s in 1995, and there certainly was. Papworth and Schumacher were both in at the beginning of Resurgence magazine, Papworth having founded it in 1966. He is one of those clearly influential and original thinking people who we don’t often hear about now. From an orphanage childhood through various jobs including service in the armed forces to becoming an Anglican minister, his voice & activities became ever more radical. 

The essential thrust of the book is a single proposition: that morality is an aspect of human relationships and that direct human relationships can only operate in communities, which are limited in size to the point where, due to numbers, human interaction starts to become impersonal, and therefore profit and/or power orientated and ultimately amoral. It is a strong argument that is pursued relentlessly through the book, somewhat repetitively, but turned over carefully in different contexts and scenarios.