A short history of progress

Wright, Ronald 1948- (author.).

Summary: The twentieth century was a time of runaway growth in human numbers, consumption, and technology, placing a colossal load on all natural systems, especially earth, air, and water - the very elements of life. The great question of the twenty-first century is how, or whether, this can go on." "In A Short History of Progress Ronald Wright shows how our modern predicament is as old as civilization, a 10,000-year experiment we unleashed but have seldom controlled. Only by understanding the patterns of progress and disaster that humanity has repeated around the world since the Stone Age can we recognize the inherent dangers, and, with luck and wisdom, shape its outcome.

Record details

ISBN: 9780786715473 (softcover) :
ISBN: 0786715472 (softcover) :
Physical Description: print
211 pages ; 21 cm.
Publisher: New York : Carroll & Graf Publishers, [2004]
Copyright: ©2004

Content descriptions

General Note:	Originally published: Toronto : House of Anansi Press, 2004.
Bibliography, etc. Note:	Includes bibliographical references (p. 187-199) and index.
Formatted Contents Note:	Gauguin's questions -- The great experiment -- Fools' paradise -- Pyramid schemes -- The rebellion of the tools.