-------------------------------------------------------- From: "Brian Hill" <•••@••.•••> To: "'Richard Moore'" <•••@••.•••> Subject: FW: [Bioreg] The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2006 19:32:09 -0700 Organization: Institute for Cultural Ecology ---<forwarded message>--- From: •••@••.••• [mailto:•••@••.•••] On Behalf Of Gene and Joyce Marshall Sent: Monday, August 14, 2006 11:50 AM To: Joyce and Gene Marshall Subject: [Bioreg] The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community Dear Friends, I have just finished reading David C. Korten's latest book, The Great Turning: from Empire to Earth Community. If there is one book that needs to be read by every awakening adult, college student, and high school senior, this is it. It reviews the glories and horrors of U.S. History. It reviews the horrors of the wrong turn for Empire that was made 5000 years ago. It show us the presence of hundreds of millions of people who are already turning away form the sorrows of Empire toward a vastly new sort of society that can take its place. It reveals how the current neocon polices of the Bush Administration are not new in U.S. history, but rather a carrying of these themes to their furthest and most destructive extremities. For those with eyes to see, this administration is discrediting these obsolete patterns. The plutocratic Radical Right and the religious Radical Right have combined together in a futile attempt to preserve the social mode of Empire. It is they, not we cultural and religious creatives, who are on the defensive. A confident persistent offensive on our part can overcome this backlash and bring about a viable future for humankind. This is the hopeful message of this book. Decades ago Kenneth Boulding spoke of the end of civilization and the beginning of post-civilization. He spoke of this turning as the most radical social shift since the shift from the tribal to the civilization mode of social organization. Korten has updated this vision. He has filled in details from the work of hundreds of people who have pioneered aspects of this turning for decades, indeed centuries. Those of us who have done our homework in these arenas will find much of this book familiar, but Korten has pulled it all together in an inclusive overview, filled it in with detailed examples, and communicated it all to this generation with an illuminating prose. Every tenth page has a quote that you might post on your refrigerator door. I have some disagreements with Korten in the religion arena, but they do not undermine my overall appreciation for the thrust of this book. It is gratifying to me that he sees the arena of religion as a primary cultural arena along with family, education, and media. Korten's theology, like that of so many who are rejecting the supernaturalism of the past, tends to water down religion to statements of human-made rational meaning. I feel called to assist my era to see that good religion is a relationship with That Final Mystery that never makes sense, but only makes Awe. Nevertheless, as I attempt to live in these times from the awareness of Awe and Wonder, I find myself joining Korten in his basic vision of what we must accomplish in the realm of social reorganization. I count him one of the "prophets" of our times. Go ahead; add this book to your library, and get it read this year. We need it for both 2006 and 2008. For Earth, Gene Marshall For Realistic Living resources, check out our web site: http://www.RealisticLiving.org __._,_.___
