End of the World

We are in a unique period in history in which we are simultaneously capable of understanding species extinction—including our own, which could be self-inflicted—and able to do something about it. Will we? In this engrossing account of the many existential threats we face—nuclear weapons are especially terrifying—Jon Mills outlines the problems and possible solutions. A must-read for anyone who cares about the future of Homo sapiens, in which we do not always seem so wise…but we could be. -- Michael Shermer, publisher of <i>Skeptic Magazine</i> and author of <i>Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational</i> This book is a careful examination of the possible future of mankind. With examples from many parts of the world the reader learns about risk factors such as global warming, industrial pollution, overpopulation, food and water scarcity, infectious diseases and our not having oversight or the ability to control or regulate technological sources. The role of individual and large-group psychology, collective traumas, transgenerational transmissions and the prejudicial unconscious factors leading to wealth and social divisions, racism, wars and war-like situations are also explored soberly in thinking about what may occur. The author refers to collective moral actions for a better future and mentions that what we can do for the planet as individuals is fairly insignificant. However, what he has done as a single person by writing this timely book is very significant. -- Vamık D. Volkan, University of Virginia, author of ""Enemies on the Couch: A Psychopolitical Journey Through War and Peace"" Warnings of the end of the world are plentiful today. Jon Mills has not written another such warning. Instead, he has delved into the psychic barriers that have prevented people from taking action to fight widespread planetary devastation. End of the World is not just a stunningly insightful analysis of our capacity for unconscious self-destruction. There is an urgency attached to this book because it makes clear exactly why we aren’t equal to the catastrophe and how we might begin to respond to our own self-destructiveness. Sadly, given the state of things, this book qualifies as simply unavoidable. -- Todd McGowan, professor, University of Vermont; author of Capitalism and Desire Are we not currently witnessing a strange paradox? On the one hand, there is an increasing consciousness about the manifold dangers that threaten the future of human life on this planet. Yet on the other hand, there is decreasing readiness for action, and ever less ability to find solutions. Fear of death appears to paralyze our political capabilities. Now, as Sigmund Freud has taught us, it is precisely our disavowal of death that makes us so fearful of it. As a psychoanalyst, Jon Mills is experienced with the mechanism of disavowal. His point therefore is not that we will die, but how our lives are affected by ecological damages. Thus, Jon Mills wisely circumvents the pitfalls of rigid panic. Instead, he redirects our displeasure to the precise point where it can translate into concrete political action. This is in accordance with a principle once formulated by poet Bertolt Brecht: political change is only possible for those who fear bad life more than death. -- Robert Pfaller, author of On the Pleasure Principle in Culture and Interpassivity