Long Emergency Review

Having just finished James Howard Kunstler’s Long Emergency, I must admit I am depressed. Despite the fact that he presents information that is not new to me, he does it in a way that is confident and matter-of-fact. Leaving any shred of optimism I was harboring completely gone. We are in for very difficult times ahead.

The basic premise of the book is that we are witnessing the end of the cheap oil era, and with it the end of industrial civilisation. The ramifications are enormous and Kunstler does not spare us any consolation. I think he presents such a dire picture in order to get the point across to a comatose public through dramatic phraseology. The criticisms of what he calls the drive-thru utopia are relentless. And he caps the book with a sobering final chapter, explaining what it may be like living through this “emergency.” I am now contemplating heading for the hills with a gun.

I must admit I am a fan of Kunstler’s. I have read his book City in Mind, and I found it very insightful. Having not read any of his fiction, however I will still hazard my opinion that he is a damn good writer. In Long Emergency he manages to treat a depressing and dismall subject and make it funny, well sometimes. One gets used to his pet phrases and even comes to like them. However no amount of literary style can mask the basic message of this work. Which can be summed up with the phrase; we are fucked.

Kunstler displays an incredible breadth of understanding and pulls from all sorts of areas. First and foremost is the global energy situation. Which he summarizes very well. Secondly he treats the phenomon of cultural malaise as it relates to the context of post-industrial capitalism in America. His chapter on economics is great, very succinct and rife with riotous phrases. My opinion is that he sees thing very clearly and has a gift for articulating it.

Some might criticise him as pessimistic or alarmist. Well the pessimism might be somewhat accurate. At least in relation to his opinion of the state of American culture today. He is not arrogant or contemptuous, rather he has seen with his own eyes the state of things and come up with some insightful observations. He has travelled throughout this country and Europe giving talks and presentations. This man knows what he is talking about through first hand knowledge of the situation. From reading his website one discovers that he has a tragic view of life. Tragic in the sense of drama tragedy. This is not necessarily pessimistic, rather different in that this view recognises loss as tragic. Loss being inevitable in life so then is tragedy. As for the label alarmist, well this also is true up to a certain point. I can see that Kunstler genuinely cares about his fellow Americans and he accurately sees that the time is already past to do something to stop the inevitable. Still I think he hopes to sound an alarm for people who can hear it. So they may salvage some of what is valuable in our civilisation. Kunstler still would like to see the Enlightenment project continue, although he admits the chances are slim.

I think this book is very refreshing, and could not have come at a better time. Read this book! He dispenses with any unfounded optimism of the future and calls it like he sees it. Surely he delights in getting a reaction from his readers and listeners, but I cannot fault him for his style any more than I can fault him for his content. All in all this is the most important book to come out this decade.