Synopses & Reviews
andlt;Pandgt;We live today in a global web of interdependence, connected technologically, economically, politically, and socially. As a result of these expanding and deepening interdependencies, it has become impossible fully to control--or foretell--the effects of our actions. The world is rife with unintended consequences. Wall Street's reckless investment in toxic assets recently produced massive defaults and a global economic recession. Our attachment to fossil energy is producing a climate default. The first law of human ecology--which declares that we can never do merely one thing--is a truth we ignore at our peril. In Indra's Net and the Midas Touch, Leslie Paul Thiele explores the impact of interdependence and unintended consequences on our pursuit of sustainability. Unfortunately, good intentions provide no antidote to the law of unintended consequences, and proffered cures often prove worse than the disease. Biofuels developed for the purpose of reducing carbon emissions, for example, have had the unintended effect of cutting off food supplies to the needy and destroying rain forests. The challenge we face is to be ingenious and adaptive in our pursuit of sustainability. But we cannot simply invent our way out of our ecological and economic crisis. Rather, we must fundamentally transform our patterns of thinking and behavior. Thiele offers the intellectual and moral foundations for this transformation, drawing from ecology, ethics, technology, economics, politics, psychology, physics, and metaphysics. Awareness of our interconnectedness, he writes, stimulates creativity and community; it is a profound responsibility and a blessing beyond measure.andlt;/Pandgt;
Review
We live mostly in the illusion of separation in a world stitched together in more ways than we can fathom... Indra's Net and the Midas Touch is a profound meditation on a deeper reality that grounds the conversation about sustainability in a world of paradox, irony, and ultimately hope that lies beyond mere gadgetry. The MIT Press
Review
"Drawing expertly on ecology and ethics, economics and politics, and more, in Indra's Net and the Midas Touch Leslie Paul Thiele crafts moral principles for sustainable living. The goal, Thiele argues, is not to be better technologists or better consumers or better managers, nor to find 'the solution.' It is to constantly adapt and thrive, individually and collectively, in one's place in this interdependent, dynamic world." -- Thomas Princen, author of Treading Softly and The Logic of Sufficiency The MIT Press
Review
"Well-written, illuminating, and erudite, this book demonstrates a breadth of sound interdisciplinary scholarship that explores themes of interdependence and unintended consequences. Its originality lies primarily in the connections it allows the reader to observe across diverse fields." -- John M. Meyer, Department of Politics, Humboldt State University; coeditor of The Environmental Politics of Sacrifice and author of Political Nature The MIT Press
Review
"Leslie Paul Thiele demonstrates why humanity is on an unsustainable path, but his book also explains the sort of thinking that can help us to become more resilient. He takes concepts rooted in the hard sciences and re-situates them in social science and humanities theories to clearly explain two significant points. First, that sustainability, either as a concept or a prescription, is not monolithic and, secondly, that the world is more complex and surprising than we think." -- Amy L. Lovecraft, Department of Political Science, University of Alaska Fairbanks The MIT Press
Review
"It is in some ways a state-of-the-planet report, of which there are many, but Indra's Net and the Midas Touch also does quite a lot more. It offers a way of thinking that might serve to chart a route into a safe and happy future." -- Jules Pretty, Times Higher Education The MIT Press
Review
andlt;Pandgt;"We live mostly in the illusion of separation in a world stitched together in more ways than we can fathom... andlt;Iandgt;Indra's Net and the Midas Touchandlt;/Iandgt; is a profound meditation on a deeper reality that grounds the conversation about sustainability in a world of paradox, irony, and ultimately hope that lies beyond mere gadgetry." -- andlt;Bandgt;David W. Orrandlt;/Bandgt;, Paul Searls Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies and Politics, Oberlin College; James Marsh Professor, University of Vermont; author of andlt;Iandgt;Down to the Wire: Confronting Climate Collapseandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;/Pandgt; The MIT Press The MIT Press
Review
andlt;Pandgt;"Drawing expertly on ecology and ethics, economics and politics, and more, in andlt;Iandgt;Indra's Net and the Midas Touchandlt;/Iandgt; Leslie Paul Thiele crafts moral principles for sustainable living. The goal, Thiele argues, is not to be better technologists or better consumers or better managers, nor to find 'the solution.' It is to constantly adapt and thrive, individually and collectively, in one's place in this interdependent, dynamic world." -- andlt;Bandgt;Thomas Princenandlt;/Bandgt;, author of andlt;Iandgt;Treading Softly andlt;/Iandgt;and andlt;Iandgt;The Logic of Sufficiencyandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;/Pandgt; The MIT Press
Review
andlt;Pandgt;"Well-written, illuminating, and erudite, this book demonstrates a breadth of sound interdisciplinary scholarship that explores themes of interdependence and unintended consequences. Its originality lies primarily in the connections it allows the reader to observe across diverse fields." -- andlt;Bandgt;John M. Meyerandlt;/Bandgt;, Department of Politics, Humboldt State University; coeditor of andlt;Iandgt;The Environmental Politics of Sacrificeandlt;/Iandgt; and author of andlt;Iandgt;Political Natureandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;/Pandgt; The MIT Press
Review
andlt;Pandgt;"Leslie Paul Thiele demonstrates why humanity is on an unsustainable path, but his book also explains the sort of thinking that can help us to become more resilient. He takes concepts rooted in the hard sciences and re-situates them in social science and humanities theories to clearly explain two significant points. First, that sustainability, either as a concept or a prescription, is not monolithic and, secondly, that the world is more complex and surprising than we think." -- andlt;Bandgt;Amy L. Lovecraftandlt;/Bandgt;, Department of Political Science, University of Alaska Fairbanksandlt;/Pandgt; The MIT Press
Review
andlt;Pandgt;andquot;It is in some ways a state-of-the-planet report, of which there are many, but Indra's Net and the Midas Touch also does quite a lot more. It offers a way of thinking that might serve to chart a route into a safe and happy future.andquot; -- andlt;Bandgt;Jules Prettyandlt;/Bandgt;, andlt;Iandgt;Times Higher Educationandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;/Pandgt;
Synopsis
An exploration of the impact of unintended consequences in an interdependent world and of the opportunities for creativity and community.
We live today in a global web of interdependence, connected technologically, economically, politically, and socially. As a result of these expanding and deepening interdependencies, it has become impossible fully to control -- or foretell -- the effects of our actions. The world is rife with unintended consequences. The first law of human ecology -- which declares that we can never do merely one thing -- is a truth we ignore at our peril. In Indra's Net and the Midas Touch, Leslie Paul Thiele explores the impact of interdependence and unintended consequences on our pursuit of sustainability.
Unfortunately, good intentions provide no antidote to the law of unintended consequences, and proffered cures often prove worse than the disease. Biofuels developed for the purpose of reducing carbon emissions, for example, have had the unintended effect of cutting off food supplies to the needy and destroying rain forests. We must fundamentally transform our patterns of thinking and behavior. Thiele offers the intellectual and moral foundations for this transformation, drawing from ecology, ethics, technology, economics, politics, psychology, physics, and metaphysics. Awareness of our interconnectedness, he writes, stimulates creativity and community; it is a profound responsibility and a blessing beyond measure.
Synopsis
We live today in a global web of interdependence, connected technologically, economically, politically, and socially. As a result of these expanding and deepening interdependencies, it has become impossible fully to control -- or foretell -- the effects of our actions. The world is rife with unintended consequences. The first law of human ecology -- which declares that we can never do merely one thing -- is a truth we ignore at our peril. In
Indra's Net and the Midas Touch, Leslie Paul Thiele explores the impact of interdependence and unintended consequences on our pursuit of sustainability.
Unfortunately, good intentions provide no antidote to the law of unintended consequences, and proffered cures often prove worse than the disease. Biofuels developed for the purpose of reducing carbon emissions, for example, have had the unintended effect of cutting off food supplies to the needy and destroying rain forests. We must fundamentally transform our patterns of thinking and behavior. Thiele offers the intellectual and moral foundations for this transformation, drawing from ecology, ethics, technology, economics, politics, psychology, physics, and metaphysics. Awareness of our interconnectedness, he writes, stimulates creativity and community; it is a profound responsibility and a blessing beyond measure.
About the Author
Leslie Paul Thiele is Professor in the Department of Political Science and the Director of Sustainability Studies at the University of Florida. He is the author of Environmentalism for a New Millennium: The Challenge of Coevolution and other books.