Living in a World that Can't Be Fixed
Reimagining Counterculture Today
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
An inspiring case for practicing civil disobedience as a way of life, and a clear vision for a better world—full of play, caring, and human connection.
In an era of peak global suffering and uncertainty, there has never been a more opportune time to re-think and re-build our entire social order. And it has never been more clear that our politicians and authorities will not be up to the task . . . only we can create the world we actually want to live in. And we can do it now.
In Living in a World that Can’t Be Fixed, Curtis White argues that the only way to save the planet, bypass social antagonisms, and build communities that actually work for us is through a strong and vital counterculture. He shows us the legacy and effectiveness of countercultural movements that existed long before the storied 1960s and imagines the similar sweeping changes we could make today—including where we live, how we work, what we eat, and the media we consume.
White—”the most inspiringly wicked social critic of the moment” (Will Blythe, Elle)—reveals how the products of our current so-called resistance, from Ken Burns to Black Panther, rarely offer a meaningful challenge to power, and how our loyalty to the “American Lifestyle” is self-defeating and keeps us from making any real social change. The world has been turned upside down, but thankfully we now have a guide for righting it on our terms.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Novelist and social critic White (We, Robots) imagines counterculture as a sanctuary from the madness of a fractured world in this series of rousing essays. He traces the notion of counterculture back to the ethos of the 19th-century English Romantics (drawing inspiration from their rejection of a rigid class system), considers where society is now (with the country's wealth in the hands of a few "oligarchs" and stagnating middle and lower classes), and posits where it is headed (facing, for example, climate change based migration). One piece, titled "Counterculture Is Impertinent," lambastes the entertainment industry's blockbuster distractions and info-tainment news programs, advocating for work that pushes boundaries and makes the viewer uncomfortable (e.g., Jordan Peele's Get Out over Disney's politically complacent Black Panther). White truly hits his stride in excoriating late-stage capitalism's many ills and identifying a light at the end of the tunnel: "In the process of pushing us away, techno-capitalism pushes us together," and this creates "great undeveloped potential for democratic improvisation." White is careful to warn in his introduction that this is not a "how-to" book, and indeed there are few practical solutions within its pages, but left-leaning readers will find this a refreshing reminder that all hope is not lost, even in a world that may seem irreparably broken.
