September 2015: The Collapse of Western Civilization: A View from the Future (Oreskes & Conway)

Post date: Sep 13, 2015 8:53:49 PM

A lovely sunset greeted Jane and me as we arrived at Kate’s last Thursday. We were joined by around 6 or 7 other alumnae for our discussion of this year’s Smith College summer reading The Collapse of Western Civilization: A View from the Future by Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway.

We started off the conversation with the question, "Why did Smith choose this book?" I proposed that it was simply to bring the situation into the forefront of the incoming students’ consciousness. While no doubt all of them have heard about global warming, and some may have been engaged in the topic during their earlier years (especially if they were attending high school in Berkeley!), I posited that many would simply not have really thought about or discussed it. This was intended as a wake-up call.

Most of us felt the structure of the book, explaining the situation as a historical review from a point in the future, was an effective device, although Nancy felt some parts did not ring true. We mulled the proposition that a strong central government / command economy such as China’s would be better positioned to enforce large scale change and manage mass migration. The USA has such a strong focus on individual liberty that it is particularly challenging to get everybody to pull together to do something requiring individual sacrifice for the wider good. The last instance we could think of was WW II.

As we discussed what might actually get things to change, Pope Francis came up, and his recent environmental encyclical with its clear support for the scientific consensus around climate change and call to action on this and other environmental issues. Karen also shared stories of evangelical Christians being strong environmentalists, prominently involved in the fight against strip mining in Kentucky. She also suggested that getting people behind changing petroleum policy would be easier if it were framed as “ending corporate welfare".

Kate and Mimi had both watched Naomi Oreskes' TED talk and recommended it, saying she was an engaging speaker. Kate was encouraged because Naomi did express some hope in answer to a question at the end.

Our conversation also touched on last month's book (My Brilliant Friend), as several people have continued reading Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan novels, and Mary had gotten a chance to watch "The Best of Youth" (La meglio gioventù). This Italian TV miniseries was recommended by several of us at our last meeting. It also uses the story of a few characters to explore wider themes in modern Italian history and covers a similar time period, 1966 through 2003.

As an aside, Nancy and Mary are currently fascinated by My Struggle, an autobiographical series of six novels written in the late 2000s by Norwegian Karl Ove Knausgård. They both had high praise for the author's ability to make you feel like you were vividly present for the various experiences he documents. The New Republic‍‍ '​‍s Evan Hughes wrote that the book is "like opening someone else's diary and finding your own secrets".