Customer Reviews

Macroshift: Navigating the Transformation to a Sustainable World

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Macroshift is a book which I recommend to anyone who feels they can change the world and make a difference.And this book is for everyone. At times it is hard reading, but it is worth it.
What intriqued me most was the prediction that author Ervin Laszlo had that we would enter a period of chaos, followed by a clear choice of two different scenarios for the people of Planet Earth.
Dr. Laszlo predicted the chaos would come around 2005, but it came earlier on September 11, 2001, but he does not leave you without a solution. Step by step he takes you through the breakdown or the breakthrough scenario and the choice is clearly ours. We can only change the world to the degree that we are willing to change ourselves.
Dr. Laszlo not only offers his well-researched personal thoughts and opinion, but provides twelve additional 3-4 page commentaries by some of the best thinkers today. Riane Eisler, Thomas Berry, Robert Muller, Gary Zukav and eight more members of the Club of Budapest share their thoughts on our global emergency.I really liked reading what others had to say. Dr. Laszlo mentions that he founded the Club of Budapest to bring global consciousness to every human on Earth.
No short order by this dreamer for a better world..but Macroshift helped me see the necessity of a shift in my thinking.

Macroshift: Navigating The Transformation To A Sustainable World by Ervin Laszlo (Science Director, International Peace University, Berlin, Germany) is a powerful and revealing look at the rapid pace of globalization and the profound shifts it has cause in the world economy and ecology. Laszlo projects and details two possible futures - the "Breakdown", where overly polarized wealth causes the supreme stratification of society and the world culture drifts toward anarchy, and the "Breakthrough", where humanity transforms itself into a new era of world prosperity. Macroshift is a ground breaking, fascinating, challenging examination of the past, present, and future of a rapidly modernizing world.

Ervin Laszlo has a formidable international reputation as a systems philosopher and the founder of general evolution theory. He has written around 70 books covering a wide variety of fields. His style is lucid, direct and very readable. This book is a brilliant addition to dialogue on an issue that desperately needs clear thinking and the ability to challenge ossified mindsets in a way that is constructive rather than merely strident. It is thoughtful, sober and constructive, in contrast to so many books in this genre that are slick and sensationalist.

Laszlo makes a carefully argued case that the world is in a rapid and fundamental transition, which will become critical during the years 2001 to 2010. Whether the outcome is 'breakthrough' or 'breakdown' depends primarily on building a 'fundamental revolution of consciousness' among a critical mass of people. The three parts of the book describe

the concept of a 'macroshift', historical examples of previous macroshifts and the choices before us
the 'new imperatives' and the logic underlying them; and
the way ahead.

"You can change the world. This book tells you how." These words on the back cover caught my interest. That's a pretty tall promise, I thought. If anything, recent events have left me feeling like the whole world is out of control and will not be set right in my lifetime.

Author Ervin Laszlo takes a look at major historic changes (like the Industrial Revolution) and comes to the conclusion that we are in middle of the next, brought on as industrial nation-states run smack into the challenges of globalization.

In an eerie foreshadowing of current events he warns that the world is more diverse than we think, and that much of it feels left behind as the western nations consume the earth's goods at breakneck speed. "Militant fundamentalism is an extreme expression of the resentment generated by these conditions," Laszlo says. And we have seen the results all to clearly.

With change inevitable, he predicts that keepers of tradition will become more resistant, bringing on the kind of Doomsday Scenarios favored by Science Fiction writers and survivalist cults: instability, uncertainty, discontent, conflict and violence. Meanwhile, the environment will continue to be ravaged by the haves and have-nots alike.

But Laszlo doesn't think the end of the world as we know it is inevitable. He really believes, and makes a good case for, the power of the individual. He uses reliable surveys to show that approximately 25% of the population in the United States and Western Europe espouse a holistic approach to life that really can turn the world around. The problem, he says, is they don't knew their own strength.

Laszlo speaks (and the book often presents itself as if it were a classroom lecture) in the moralistic tone of turn-of-the twentieth century reformers. It's refreshing to hear someone from the western world speak up against the excesses of a market-driven economy and recommend that we help our neighbors, take up a physical activity or hobby, or read a book. His motto is "think globally and act morally." Along the way he takes to task meat eaters, smokers, big business, fundamentalists, and organized labor while questioning patriotism, efficiency at any cost, and conspicuous consumption.

After hearing Ervin Laszlo on NPR (whom I had never heard of before), I looked forward to reading his book. Although the interview with Kojo Namdi was interesting, I did notice that Laszlo had a tendency to pump himself up, but I attributed that to the nature of radio interviews. When I read the book, I was completely disappointed. The concept of "megashift" was little more than "Repent your ways, sinners, it is the end of the world!" Laszlo's theme was that the world was becoming more stressed and on the verge of a breakdown. He used examples from Chaos Theory, but even here he was very sloppy in the application. Further, he made no statement at all about what would happen if and the when the world did break down. Would there be world wars? Would there be food? Many other writers have approached the theory of conflict and systems change in a much better fashion, including Hegel, Marx, Kuhn, Fukuyama and Steven Johnson in his book "Emergence." None of these writers were even mentioned. (By the way, this is an actual quote from "About the Author": "Laszlo is generally recognized as the founder of systems philosophy and general evolution theory ... " If this is true, it is news to me --- and no doubt Darwin!)
The scholarship was weak and extremely self-serving. If I hear about Laszlo being the President and Founder of the Club of Budapest one more time in connection with his ideas, I think I'll move to ban the organization --- even though I have nothing against peace and harmony in the world.
The book was in many ways an insult to the intelligence and a waste of [money]. The only benefit I did receive was the incentive to learn more about Chaos theory from better sources.
I would not recommend the book unless a reader wants to study the art of subtle self-promotion.

Overall, I think the book carries great meaning and great lessons. We need to have a new mindset - "macroshift", in order to save the planet. I totally agree.

Then why do I only give 3 stars? Because I still didn't see anything new. It is similar to other books, like "Limits to Growth" by Donella Meadows (Club of Rome). The author provides all different kinds of warning signs to ask people "Live simple. Love our Earth and other species". I know it's difficult to have a new pitch to ask people stop wasting or stop smoking, etc. However, we do need a more insightful/creative perspective to really change people.

Overall, I only recommend this book to people who are already buy-in "save the planet" concept.

As much as it is possible for a single book to give its reader a comprehensive and profound understanding of the impending global social, economic, and ecological crisis, this is that book.

According to Dr. Laszlo, human society has passed through three major stages --Mythos, Theos, and Logos--and is on the verge of its next, and perhaps final stage, Holos. But the transition from our Logos civilization to Holos, like those before it, is not quite as automatic as someone simply climbing the rungs of a ladder. According to _Macroshift, there is some real possibility that our civilization may fail to make the leap, in which case it will almost certainly 'break down' into global anarchy--we may have had a terrible foretaste of this in the September 11 attacks. (For a chilling picture of this kind of world, see the classic sci-fi film _The Road Warrior_). But, should it succeed, humanity will be privileged to witness the birth of the first truly global civilization--and a world whose possibilities surpass our dreams.

This is an excellent book. It embodies what I pretty much believe but in such an eloquent and thoughtful way. I highly recommed it to anyone who is searching for a hopeful perspective regarding the future of our world.

Tom

This eye and heart-opening book - just like "You Can Change The World" by the same author - is a must read for each and every human being whose consciousness is gradually awakening to the problems that humanity shares on our beautiful planet. The more it is being read and the pieces of advice adhered to, the more planetary consciousness will spread and take a lasting effect in the minds and hearts of our fellow inhabitants on planet earth. May the book's vision NOT turn out to be wishful thinking.

Laszo's new book rather disappointed me. Nothing new. All he writes had nothing to do with The Field, or the inner movements of human beings. Rhe things he write down in 'Marcroshift' are better said by others before him. Much ado about nothing, that's my review.