| Revision as of 13:43, 9 August 2012 editJbghewer (talk | contribs)203 edits There was outdated information that needed to be fixed (professor at Waterloo), and I felt the infobox was harmless. I acknowledge the fact that I am a research assistant to Homer-Dixon← Previous edit | Revision as of 16:24, 14 August 2012 edit undoJbghewer (talk | contribs)203 edits As promised, I am carefully rewiriting this entry after the reversion by Rrburke, with whom I have been in discussion re possible COI. Please monitor and constructively guide my NPOV.Next edit → | ||
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| The book sets out a theory of the growth, crisis, and renewal of societies. The world's converging energy, environmental, and political stresses could cause a breakdown of national and global order. Yet there are things we can do now to keep such a breakdown from being catastrophic. And some kinds of breakdown could even open up extraordinary opportunities for creative, bold reform of our societies, if we are prepared to exploit these opportunities when they arise.<ref name=abstract>{{cite web|url=http://www.theupsideofdown.com/theargument.html|title=The Argument|publisher=Alfred A. Knopf Canada||accessdate=2006-11-20}}</ref> | The book sets out a theory of the growth, crisis, and renewal of societies. The world's converging energy, environmental, and political stresses could cause a breakdown of national and global order. Yet there are things we can do now to keep such a breakdown from being catastrophic. And some kinds of breakdown could even open up extraordinary opportunities for creative, bold reform of our societies, if we are prepared to exploit these opportunities when they arise.<ref name=abstract>{{cite web|url=http://www.theupsideofdown.com/theargument.html|title=The Argument|publisher=Alfred A. Knopf Canada||accessdate=2006-11-20}}</ref> | ||
| ==Background== | |||
| In the mid-1990's, Dr. Homer-Dixon's work on the links between environmental stress and conflict resulted in the publication of ''Environment, Scarcity, and Violence'' (], 1999). From this research, Dr. Homer-Dixon concluded that the pivotal factor in successful adaptation to such stress and conflict was the ability to produce and utilize new ideas, or what he began to call 'ingenuity'. Over the next few years, Dr. Homer-Dixon extended his ingenuity argument into the study of how societies, in general, adapted to a wide range of complex stresses. The culmination of this work was the publication of '']'' (]), which put forth his research in many fields relating to social adaptation to complex stress. | |||
| For the six years after the publication of ''The Ingenuity Gap'', Dr. Homer-Dixon extended this line of inquiry even further, examining the threat to global stability of simultaneous and interacting demographic, environmental, economic, and political stresses. This work resulted in the publication of ''The Upside of Down'', in which he explains that, although these stresses have seemed ever present and fairly manageable individually, the real danger is that several will likely reach a crisis point at the same time, creating a train of events that could overwhelm the resilience of even the richest and most powerful societies. This and other complex, inter-related issues are examined in this book. | |||
| ==References== | ==References== | ||
Revision as of 16:24, 14 August 2012
 | |
| Author | Thomas Homer-Dixon |
|---|---|
| Genre | Non-fiction, Political Science, Social Science |
| Publisher | Random House Canada |
| Publication date | October 2006 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover & Paperback) |
| Pages | 448 pp. |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-676-97722-7 (10) & ISBN 978-0-676-97722-6 (13) Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character |
| Dewey Decimal | 909.83 |
| LC Class | HC79.E5 H66 2006 |
The Upside of Down: Catastrophe, Creativity, and the Renewal of Civilization (ISBN 0-676-97722-7) is a non-fiction book published in 2006 by Thomas Homer-Dixon, a professor at the University of Waterloo.
The book sets out a theory of the growth, crisis, and renewal of societies. The world's converging energy, environmental, and political stresses could cause a breakdown of national and global order. Yet there are things we can do now to keep such a breakdown from being catastrophic. And some kinds of breakdown could even open up extraordinary opportunities for creative, bold reform of our societies, if we are prepared to exploit these opportunities when they arise.
Background
In the mid-1990's, Dr. Homer-Dixon's work on the links between environmental stress and conflict resulted in the publication of Environment, Scarcity, and Violence (Princeton University Press, 1999). From this research, Dr. Homer-Dixon concluded that the pivotal factor in successful adaptation to such stress and conflict was the ability to produce and utilize new ideas, or what he began to call 'ingenuity'. Over the next few years, Dr. Homer-Dixon extended his ingenuity argument into the study of how societies, in general, adapted to a wide range of complex stresses. The culmination of this work was the publication of The Ingenuity Gap (Knopf Canada), which put forth his research in many fields relating to social adaptation to complex stress.
For the six years after the publication of The Ingenuity Gap, Dr. Homer-Dixon extended this line of inquiry even further, examining the threat to global stability of simultaneous and interacting demographic, environmental, economic, and political stresses. This work resulted in the publication of The Upside of Down, in which he explains that, although these stresses have seemed ever present and fairly manageable individually, the real danger is that several will likely reach a crisis point at the same time, creating a train of events that could overwhelm the resilience of even the richest and most powerful societies. This and other complex, inter-related issues are examined in this book.
References
- "The Argument". Alfred A. Knopf Canada. Retrieved 2006-11-20.
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See also
External links
- Official website for the book
- Official website for Thomas Homer-Dixon
- Audio interview with THECOMMENTARY.CA