Dark Age Ahead

In this indispensable book, urban visionary Jane Jacobs--renowned author ofThe Death and Life of Great American CitiesandThe Economy of Cities--convincingly argues that as agrarianism gives way to a technology-based future, we stand on the brink of a new dark age, a period of cultural collapse. Jacobs pinpoints five pillars of our culture that are in serious decay: community and family; higher education; the effective practice of science; taxation, and government; and the self-regulation of the learned professions. The corrosion of these pillars, Jacobs argues, is linked to societal ills such as environmental crisis, racism, and the growing gulf between rich and poor. But this is a hopeful book as well as a warning. Drawing on her vast frame of referencefrom fifteenth-century Chinese shipbuilding to Irelands cultural rebirthJacobs suggests how the cycles of decay can be arrested and our way of life renewed. Invigorating and accessible,Dark Age Aheadis not only the crowning achievement of Jane Jacobs career, but one of the most important works of our time.