In the face of political impotence, looming resource depletion, and catastrophic climate change, many of us have become reconciled to an uncertain future. However, popular perception of how this future might actually unfold varies wildly from "a severe and prolonged recession," to James Howard Kunstler's "Long Emergency", to the complete breakdown of civilization. In The Five Stages of Collapse, Dmitry Orlov posits a taxonomy of collapse, offering a surprisingly optimistic perspective on surviving the sweeping changes of the day with health and sanity intact.
Arguing that it is during periods of disruption and extreme uncertainty that broad cultural change becomes possible, Orlov steers the reader through the challenges of financial, commercial and political collapse. He suggests that if the first three stages are met with the appropriate responses, further breakdown may be arrested before the extremes of social and cultural collapse are reached.
Drawing on a detailed examination of post-collapse societies, including the Somali people of Africa, the Pashtuns of Afghanistan, the Roma of Central and Eastern Europe and even the Russian Mafia, The Five Stages of Collapse describes successful adaptations in areas such as finance, self-governance, social organization and culture. These fascinating case studies provide a unique perspective on the characteristics which determine highly resilient communities. Shot through with Orlov's trademark dark humor, this is an invaluable toolkit for creating workable post-collapse solutions.
Authors
- Bibliography, etc. Note
- Includes bibliographical references and index
- Control Number Identifier
- CaOOCEL
- Dewey Decimal Classification Number
- 330.9/05
- Dewey Decimal Edition Number
- 23
- General Note
- Issued as part of the desLibris books collection
- ISBN
- 9780865717367 9781550925272
- LCCN
- HC59.3
- LCCN Item number
- O75 2013eb
- Modifying agency
- CaBNVSL
- Original cataloging agency
- CaOONL
- Physical Description | Extent
- 1 electronic text (vi, 281 p.)
- Publisher or Distributor Number
- CaOOCEL
- Rights
- Access restricted to authorized users and institutions
- System Control Number
- (CaBNVSL)slc00232458 (OCoLC)847998321 (CaOOCEL)445177
- System Details Note
- Mode of access: World Wide Web
- Transcribing agency
- CaOONL
Table of Contents
- Front Cover 1
- Praise 2
- Title Page 4
- Rights Page 5
- Contents 6
- Introduction: Collapses in General 8
- Chapter 1: Financial Collapse 24
- Case Study: Iceland 70
- Chapter 2: Commercial Collapse 80
- Case Study: The Russian Mafia 112
- Chapter 3: Political Collapse 130
- Case Study: The Pashtuns 196
- Chapter 4: Social Collapse 202
- Case Study: The Roma 218
- Chapter 5: Cultural Collapse 234
- Case Study: The Ik 252
- Afterword 268
- Endnotes 272
- Bibliography 274
- Index 276
- About the author 288
- A Guide to Responsible Digital Reading 289