| How to Think Seriously about the Planet: The Case for an Environmental Conservatism Contributor(s): Scruton, Roger (Author), Prebble, Simon (Read by) |
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ISBN: 1470822334 ISBN-13: 9781470822330 Publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks OUR PRICE: $26.96 Product Type: MP3 CD - Other Formats Published: June 2012 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Nature | Environmental Conservation & Protection - General - Political Science | Political Ideologies - Conservatism & Liberalism - Political Science | Public Policy - Environmental Policy |
| Dewey: 333.720 |
| Physical Information: 0.6" H x 5.3" W x 7.4" (0.20 lbs) |
| Themes: - Topical - Ecology |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: The environment has long been the undisputed territory of the political Left, which casts international capitalism, consumerism, and the overexploitation of natural resources as the principle threats to the planet and sees top-down interventions as the most effective solution. In How to Think Seriously about the Planet, Roger Scruton rejects this view and offers a fresh approach to tackling the most important political problem of our time. He contends that the environmental movement is philosophically confused and has unrealistic agendas. Its sights are directed at large-scale events and the confrontation between international politics and multinational business. But Scruton argues that no large-scale environmental project, however well intentioned, will succeed if it is not rooted in small-scale practical reasoning. Seeing things on a large scale promotes top-down solutions, managed by unaccountable bureaucracies that fail to assess local conditions and rife with unintended consequences. Scruton calls for the greater efficacy of local initiatives over global schemes, civil association over political activism, and small-scale institutions of friendship over regulatory hypervigilance, suggesting that conservatism is far better suited to solving environmental problems than either liberalism or socialism. Rather than entrusting the environment to unwieldy NGOs and international committees, we must assume personal responsibility and foster local control. People must be empowered to take charge of their environment, to care for it as they would a home, and to involve themselves through the kind of local associations that have been the traditional goal of conservative politics. Our common future is by no means assured, but as Roger Scruton clearly demonstrates in this important book, there is a path that can ensure the future safety of our planet and our species. |
Contributor Bio(s): Scruton, Roger: - Roger Scruton is a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. He has taught at the Universities of Cambridge, London, Oxford, Princeton, and Boston and has been a freelance writer and commentator for the past fifteen years. His many books include Beauty: A Very Short Introduction, Death-Devoted Heart, and The Uses of Pessimism. Prebble, Simon: -Simon Prebble, a British-born performer, is a stage and television actor and veteran narrator of some three hundred audiobooks. As one of AudioFile's Golden Voices, he has received over twenty Earphones Awards and won the prestigious Audie in 2010. He lives in New York. |