The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community (BK Currents (Hardcover)) (Hardcover)

by David C Korten (Author) "In 1995, I observed in the prologue to When Corporations Rule the World that everywhere I went I found an almost universal sense among ordinary..." (more)
Key Phrases: United States, Imperial Consciousness, Great Turning (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"An epic work. Exposes the myths that divide us and frames the stories that can bring us together." -- Danny Glover, Activist and Actor

Product Description
In his classic international bestseller, When Corporations Rule the World, David Korten exposed the destructive and oppressive nature of the global corporate economy and helped spark a global resistance movement. Now, he shows that the problem runs deeper than corporate domination—with far greater consequences. Korten argues that global corporate consolidation of power is but one manifestation of what he calls "Empire"—the organization of society by hierarchies of dominance that has held sway for the past 5,000 years. Empire has always resulted in misery for the many and fortune for the few. Now it threatens the very future of humanity. The Great Turning traces the ancient roots of Empire and charts its long evolution from monarchies to the transnational institutions of the global economy. Empire is not inevitable, not the natural order of things. Korten draws on evidence from sources as varied as evolutionary theory, developmental psychology, and religious teachings to make the case that "Earth Community"—a life-centered, egalitarian, sustainable way of ordering human society based on democratic principles of partnership—is indeed possible and within the scope of human choice. He details a practical strategy for advancing a turning toward a future of as-yet-unrealized human potential.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 402 pages
• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers (April 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1887208070
• ISBN-13: 978-1887208079
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #344,681 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

88 of 92 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars People are the new super power--local resilience, global community, January 28, 2007

By	Robert D. Steele (Oakton, VA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

I have mixed feelings about this book. It is unquestionably a five-star work of reflection, integration, and focused moral intent. On the other hand, while it introduced a broad "earth-friendly" literature that I was *not* familiar with, it does not "see" a much broader literature that I have absorbed, and so I want to do two things with this review: feature the highlights from this book, and list a number of other works that support and expand on the author's reflections for the greater good of us all.

Early highlights include the continued relevance of Dennis Kucinich and the emerging value of the Case Foundation and Revolution Health as funded by Steve Case, founder of AOL. The author posits early on the choice we have been a great unraveling and a great turning. He describes all our institutions as failing at the same time that we have unlimited potential. He concludes, as have many others, that centralized authority is not working, and suggests that we must confront that which does not work and devise new constructive alternatives ("for every no there must be a yes").

In the middle of the book he describes the five levels of consciousness as magical, imperial, socialized, cultural, and spirirtual. I would have put socialized ahead of imperial, since the industrial era used schools to socialize us into both factory workers and conscripts for the armed forces. He concludes this section with a commentary on moral autism, which of course reminds us of nakedly amoral Dick Cheney.

The author moves toward a conclusion by pointing out that people are the new super-power, with the Internet and its many new features as the foundation for bringing people together and making people power effective.

A large portion of the middle section is a historical review of America, with its genocidal, slavery, and unilateral militant interventionist nature, and its extreme inequality now, which the literature on revolution clearly identifies (the latter, concentration of wealth) as a precurser to almost inevitable violent revolution).

The book ends with four strategic elements:

1) Awakening of cultural and spiritual consciousness
2) Resistance of the imperial empire's assault on children, families, communities, and nature
3) Form and connect communities of convergence
4) Build a majoritarian political base.

In parting notes he points out that the status of our children is the key indicator of our future, and that today one out of every two children is born into and lives into poverty (one reason why the High Level Threat Panel put poverty above infectuous disease and environmental degradation).

He ends by calling for local living economies at a human scale.

If you have the time to only read one book within the broad literatures of imagination, corporateism, and constructive prospects for the planet, this is probably that book. Below I want to a list quite a few that support this author's thesis, and for which I have provided a summative as well as an evaluative review within these Amazon pages:

The Corporation
WALMART-HIGH COST OF LOW PRICE (DVD/FF/FR-SP-SUB)
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
Rogue Nation: American Unilateralism and the Failure of Good Intentions
Rule by Secrecy: The Hidden History That Connects the Trilateral Commission, the Freemasons, and the Great Pyramids
Rule by Secrecy: The Hidden History That Connects the Trilateral Commission, the Freemasons, and the Great Pyramids
The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, Secrecy, and the End of the Republic (The American Empire Project)
War Is a Racket: The Anti-War Classic by America's Most Decorated General, Two Other Anti=Interventionist Tracts, and Photographs from the Horror of It
The One Percent Doctrine: Deep Inside America's Pursuit of Its Enemies Since 9/11
Vice: Dick Cheney and the Hijacking of the American Presidency

See also:
Fog Facts: Searching for Truth in the Land of Spin
Lost History: Contras, Cocaine, the Press & 'Project Truth'
"The Landscape of History: How Historians Map the Past"
Imagine: What America Could Be in the 21st Century
The Cultural Creatives: How 50 Million People Are Changing the World
The Tao of Democracy: Using Co-Intelligence to Create a World That Works for All
The Change Handbook: The Definitive Resource on Today's Best Methods for Engaging Whole Systems
Deep Economy

There are many more should you wish to explore via my categorized lists, but the above both lend great credence to the author of this single book, and expand considerably on the reflections that he has distilled into this one book.

62 of 67 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The book is better than I had expected, April 26, 2006

By	Peter (www.karavans.com) - See all my reviews

...and my expectations were high to begin with. I must confess to only being half way through it. However, it's kept me up late both nights since purchasing it. (I'm writing this at 1:36 am after staying up way past my bed time to read "just one more" chapter.)

The author makes history come alive for the reader. Although I have read numerous books on history over the decades, this is the first one that explains the positive feedback loop that has allowed Empire to emerge and persist for 5000 years so far, despite the immeasurable cost to humanity and the planet.

The author recommends that readers form discussion groups and provides some tools for facilitating discussion. If you'd like to join mine, come to my site's forum.

This will be one of the most important books you will ever read.

35 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Global Mess We Are In and The Way Out Of It, December 2, 2006

By	Bugs "Patrick" (Los Angeles, Ca.) - See all my reviews

David C. Korten has done a wonderful job of exposing the five thousand year history of Empire building and social hierarchy around the world and it`s tragic trail of greed and control driven tyranny, but with special attention to the history of it in the U.S. and up to it's current form- corporate control and manipulation of society decimating sustainable economics, the environment- and ultimately, the health of our nation and the world.

Korten relates that the U.S. Constitution was a remarkable accomplishment for it's time and along with evolving amendments to include all citizens of it's benefits, on paper at least, it appeared as a grand experiment in democracy.

As Korten succinctly points out, however, every advancement in democracy and fairness has been fought against by corporate giants and the rich for selfish monopoly of the assets of our nation leaving us with a huge disparity in wealth between the relatively small numbers of elite rich in proportion to the larger numbers of middle class on down to the very poor. That there is a class structure at all is a sad commentary on equality, fairness, and our democracy.

Korten proffers that the Great Turning will gain momentum when we embrace the notion that "...a proper market economy operates with rules, borders, and equitable local ownership under the public oversight of democratically accountable governments." (p 15)

The Great Turning embraces the tenants of the Earth Charter in recognizing that this world is finite, resources are limited and need to be used in a sustainable/regenerative way with equal distribution for a healthy and harmonious existence for all of the world's citizens.

"Creating a mature society, however, requires leadership by people of a mature consciousness." (p 48). And this is the essence of the message Korten is disseminating, I believe. His Great Turning and Yes!Magazine websites have an abundance of info and resources on taking action and organizing local groups for dialogue on the Great Turning.

The Great Turning is a remarkable achievement and a monument to sustainable human conduct and relation with all other life forms and the environment that supports us all.