A Dangerous Transition to Hope

Abstract

The dawn of a global urban age is the beginning not the end of a challenging journey. Industrial capitalism it seems is finally mired in insuperable contradictions, and transition to a new human dispensation is inevitable and desirable. A two-stage transition awaits: first, a time of uncertainty and painful adjustment as the retrenchment of carbon capitalism begins in earnest, followed, it is to be hoped, by a new political economic order that provides humanity and the biosphere with the means for a safe and sustainable coexistence. My interest in this chapter is with the first stage – of painful adjustment – which will surely necessitate repurposing of state rationale and scope. My controve..