Down to Earth: Politics in the New Climatic Regime 1st Edition, Kindle Edition

Seller pushed the quality of the condition a little too hard, but it's a good text that arrived on time and in good shape

Philosophy has always been about Existence - and not only for the Existentialists; most philosophical schools have to come to grips with the deep questions of living.Now that existence itself for everybody is threatened due to the Climate and Environmental emergencies, it is most adequate to have a philosopher reflecting on the present state and the future fate of humanity. Bruno Latour brilliantly takes on this challenge. He distinguishes between globalization-minus (economic capitalistic globalization that inherently creates great inequalities and destroys the planet) and globalization-plus (the ideal world where everybody has acquired a high standard of living -but that does require several Earths...). Realizing these two impossibilities, the elites have decided to go into bunkers or to mars or New Zealand, building walls and leaving the rest of humanity to fry off. And part of that humanity is returning to the Local - Brexit, Trump, ethnicities and nationalities, abandoning the dream of a single World for everybody and precluding global solutions to global problems. Or else migrating en masse towards some Land that would provide them security. That unworkable vector from the Local to either Globals needs to be gradually abandoned. The new vector would go from the elites leaving, to the rest of us creating a new world from scratch that Latour calls the Terrestial, whose "citizens" include every living being, from bacteria to humans in total symbiosis with each and every other. The Terrestial needs to be the new political pole of attraction. Both the Locals and the Globalizers plus and minus need to know about this new world and be convinced to move towards it.

If not trained in the discipline, reading Continental Philosophers is no an easy enterprise. Latour generally is one of the more accessible but still not an easy task. He is well worth the effort. Down to Earth may be a good book to start with as it is also his most "down to earth" writing. Human activity is warming the planet and radically changing the climate. Those who have been leading and feeding the deniers are in the vanguard of those who know that it is true and they no doubt believe that the wealth they are accumulating as a result of pushing the change will protect them and "cleanse" the planet of "all those others." Unfortunately the accumulators of wealth are so single focused that they tend not to be very smart. They probably skipped reading Poe's Masque of the Red Death.If things feel "left out" of this slim book it is because it contains a lot of arrows pointing to others: Donna Haraway, Anna Lauenhaupt Tsing, all of Latour's other work, Michel Serres. This book is a good nodal entrance to a compelling network of ideas and possible solutions. As Latour himself puts it in this book (pg 13, Kindle edition), "If it is a matter of multiplying viewpoints so as to complicate all “provincial” or “closed” views with new variants, it is a fight that deserves to be fought. If it is a matter of decreasing the number of alternatives regarding the existence and the course of the world, the value of goods and the definitions of the Globe, it is clear that we have to resist such simplifications with all our might."

A thought provoking book. One ironic insight: just as the despoiling effects of colonial imperialism has led to the need for affected populations to immigrate to new lands, so this incursion into the homelands of the descendants of colonialism has led these descendants to retreat (to ‘immigrate’) as ‘their’ countries are being ‘invaded’ by those displaced individuals who would introduce new values, new ways of thinking and who they see as ‘taking’ their country away from them.

From now on, I will automatically buy any book to which “TCh” gives a 1-star review. Reading this book, it’s clear that the aforementioned reviewer did not read this book, but simply skimmed (or surfed) it, looking for what already seemed relevant rather than trying to learn anything new. Anyway, this book is one of the easiest to understand about Brexit and Trumpism of any philosophy book I’ve read in years, and shows how these upheavals have less to do with sexism, racism, money, and all the other usual culprits, than they do with denial of the reality of global warming. This alone is a valuable insight, and only one of many.

This French academic and author has unique big picture perspective that can help us get untangled from our entrenched positions in ideologies and the divisiveness we've been trying to deal with. Very helpful !Book in excellent condition. Kudos for using USPS. Please consider eco-friendly heavy brown paper wrapping instead of plasticky wrap. Thanks !

This is a brilliant, motivating essay that is accessible and to the point: as no one is speaking up for Mother Earth she will speak for herself, with all that implies. Latour is calling for a new political orientation, one that is neither obsessed with protecting profit, nor overly focussed on economic redistribution. We need a radical center that is dedicated to preventing us from going over the environmental cliff. Should be read by up and coming politicians because this will be the only issue that really matters sooner than we think.

A good contribution to an important topic. Like so much of Latour’s writing, it would be better if it was written in an inviting and accessible way for a larger audience. As it is, few are going to benefit from the text.

My overarching impression is summed up by this – “idealism increases proportionally with your distance from the problem”.I found his book almost impossible to read, too many heavy metaphors, he seems to make zero effort to make his rambling thoughts in any way accessible to readers.He needs to spend a little time away from his desk and put his toe in the real world.Beneath it all there is some clear thinking – brilliantly disguised as psycho-babble.In the end I could only stomach a few dips into each chapter.

This is a powerful and informative analysis of our current situation. However, if (as some reviewers clearly have been) you are looking for 'answers', this book does not provide them, expecting us to take what steps we feel and think necessary. . It is, of course, none the worse for that.

Feel-bad stuff, but thought provoking.

Far too trite and typing words here and there with bold emphasis is about as classy as his main target, the unmentionable ex-president, using TikTok styles. As far as giving us any deep thoughts on politics in the new era of climate change awareness it was trendy, superficial and totally non-productive. I thought he was supposed to be a well respected philosopher. Waste of money.