Smart, funny, and fresh, The Barbaric Heart argues that the present environmental crisis will not be resolved by the same forms of crony capitalism and managerial technocracy that created the crisis in the first place. With his trademark wit, White argues that the solution might very well come from an unexpected quarter: the arts, religion, and the realm of the moral imagination.
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About the Author
Dubbed “the most inquiringly wicked social critic of the moment,” novelist and essayist Curtis White is a professor of English at Illinois State University. His previous book, The Middle Mind: Why Americans Don’t Think for Themselves, was widely acclaimed. His other books include Monstrous Possibility, Requiem, Memories of My Father Watching TV, and The Idea of Home. His essays have appeared in many publications, including Harper’s Magazine and The Village Voice. He lives in Normal, Illinois, with his wife Georganne Rundblad and their five psittacine companions.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By dp
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Read this book for an impassioned defense of our humanity and the chance for a way out...compelling and needed. Loved it.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A deep critique of how we see the natural environment and the world
July 16, 2010
By J. I. Uitto
Format:Paperback
This is a very radical book in which Curtis White offers a deep criticism of our way of life and the way we approach life and the world. He sees history as being dominated by the capitalist ethos and scientific logic, what he calls the Barbaric Heart. He criticizes the environmental movement and the very concept of sustainability for working inside of this destructive system, just placating and trying to moderate the Barbaric Heart, and isolating the environment (or ecosystem, in scientific terms) from the rest of the society. He writes:
"Environmentalism's analyses tend to be abous 'sources.' Industrial sources. Non-point sources. Urban sources. Smokestack sources. Tailpipe sources. Even natural sources. ... Okay, but why do we have all of these polluting sources? What has made them? Is it something about human nature? Our violence? Is it something about sin? Our greed? Is it something about evil? Corporate villains?" (p. 4)
The questions at the end contain hints to White's argument. Often quoting from Greek philosophers and drawing parallels to the fall of the Roman Empire, he sees the (self-) destructiveness of the Barbaric Heart. It is futile to blame individual corporations. Instead, White makes sweeping linkages between environmental destruction and the broader society and its values: constant growth, measuring the value of everything in money, competition, the demeaning and alienating form work has taken, violence as a means of politics, violence against people and against nature. He concludes that:
"The very notion of environmentalism is not much more than a way of isolating a problem from its true context. The crisis of a degraded natural world is a part of the larger problem of the crisis of thought, the crisis of faith, and the crisis of the relation of human beings to Being." (p. 176)
The Barbaric Heart is a deep and spiritual book. It may be extreme in some ways, but it is very thought provoking and forces the reader to think beyond the usual. I think everyone would benefit from reading it.
"Environmentalism's analyses tend to be abous 'sources.' Industrial sources. Non-point sources. Urban sources. Smokestack sources. Tailpipe sources. Even natural sources. ... Okay, but why do we have all of these polluting sources? What has made them? Is it something about human nature? Our violence? Is it something about sin? Our greed? Is it something about evil? Corporate villains?" (p. 4)
The questions at the end contain hints to White's argument. Often quoting from Greek philosophers and drawing parallels to the fall of the Roman Empire, he sees the (self-) destructiveness of the Barbaric Heart. It is futile to blame individual corporations. Instead, White makes sweeping linkages between environmental destruction and the broader society and its values: constant growth, measuring the value of everything in money, competition, the demeaning and alienating form work has taken, violence as a means of politics, violence against people and against nature. He concludes that:
"The very notion of environmentalism is not much more than a way of isolating a problem from its true context. The crisis of a degraded natural world is a part of the larger problem of the crisis of thought, the crisis of faith, and the crisis of the relation of human beings to Being." (p. 176)
The Barbaric Heart is a deep and spiritual book. It may be extreme in some ways, but it is very thought provoking and forces the reader to think beyond the usual. I think everyone would benefit from reading it.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By B. Hinnefeld
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I can't believe there is only one review of this book--it is brilliant. I think i've underlined 90% of it. As we see things imploding in the Gulf of Mexico, this book becomes more and more relevant--should be taught in classes and certainly in environmental studies. Mr White lays out clearly what we all need to be loooking at--why we are in the mess we're in. IT's not the villains==it's all of us, who live in fear and illusion, wanting the free market and capitalism to be real and viable--please please let them be, let it all be ok==and sticking out heads in the sand while things continue to fall apart. I really appreciate his bravery in being willing to say beauty matters--I feel silly about every day and have felt guilty about it most my life. Is good to have someone else say it in such a cogent way.
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