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The End of the Megamachine: A Brief History of a Failing Civilization Kindle Edition

by Fabian Scheidler (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 76 ratings
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The End of the Megamachine provides a uniquely comprehensive picture of the roots of the destructive forces that are threatening the future of humankind today. Spanning 5000 years of history, the book shows how the three tyrannies of militarized states, capital accumulation and ideological power have been steering both ecosystems and societies to the brink of collapse. With the growing instability of the Megamachine in the 21st century, new dangers open up as well as new possibilities for systemic change, to which everyone can contribute. Originally published in Germany in 2015 to great acclaim, Zero Books presents the first English language edition of The End of the Megamachine: A Brief History of a Failing Civilization. “The topic could not be more important. A very valuable and surely timely contribution.” Noam Chomsky

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  1. Print length
    436 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Zero Books
  5. Publication date
    September 25, 2020
  6. File size
    1777 KB
  7. Page Flip
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  8. Word Wise
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Editorial Reviews

Review

'A fascinating book, delightful to read in spite of the grim topic. This is an excellent reflection on the terror/hope that we are living.' -- John Holloway, Autonomous University of Puebla, Mexico

'The topic could not be more important. A very valuable and surely timely contribution.' -- Noam Chomsky, Laureate Professor, University of Arizona

'This book, a sensation in Germany when it was first published, challenges us to seek a new path for our and the planet's survival.' -- Maude Barlow, Council of the Canadians

'You can't be a serious activist committed to creating a new world if you haven't read this.' -- Firoze Manji, Carleton University

'A magnificent book, that couldn't be more topical. We owe gratitude, solidarity and a lot of admiration to the author.' -- Jean Ziegler

1

'A fascinating new take on the parts of human history that got us where we are today.' -- Bill McKibben, Founder of Third Act and author of The Flag, The Cross and The Station Wagon

About the Author

Fabian Scheidler studied history and philosophy in Berlin and theatre directing in Frankfurt/M. He works and lives in Berlin as a writer for print media, television, theatre and opera. In 2009 he co-founded the independent newscast Kontext TV (www.kontext-tv.de/en), producing a monthly broadcast on global justice issues; guests include Noam Chomsky, Vandana Shiva, Immanuel Wallerstein, Jeremy Scahill, Amy Goodman, Saskia Sassen, Yanis Varoufakis, Maude Barlow and many others.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08G6M1X85
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Zero Books (September 25, 2020)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 25, 2020
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1777 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 436 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1789042712
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 76 ratings

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Fabian Scheidler

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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
76 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

topher
5.0 out of 5 stars If you're interested in how we got in this mess.
Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2022
Verified Purchase
Deeply researched and footnoted. Google any name, quote or fact and it's verified. Scheidler takes all the pieces from 5000 years of human social structure and puts them all together so you can see the whole, like a cubist painting gone wrong. The only question now is, can we save this messed up attempt to create society, or do we have to start all over from the microbial level?
One person found this helpful
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5.0 out of 5 stars Very well documented arguments
Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2021
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Really interesting, intellectual account with simple language. "Big history" is used to make a point about society and climate change and where our problems come from
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David Anderson
4.0 out of 5 stars Author omits discussion of the “dark side” of humans
Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2021
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No question that the book is very well written very well researched and documented. Yet I do have a critical observation. The author omits discussion of the “dark side” of human behavior being the inherent cause of our capital market dysfunction. That “dark side” is driven by a self-serving dynamic. It can enrapture us. It can turn us against each other. Over our history we have been witness to it in our interactions interpersonally and internationally. A chapter or two on the eukaryotic/neurotic/psychotic disorder driving the origins of this human behavior would have been helpful. Way back in our Abrahamic history Jeremiah warned us of our dangerous “dark side.” (even earlier in Egypt with the reference to the "weighing of the feather") Jeremiah’s words and the Egyptian observation should give us pause when we discuss not only market capitalism per se but all of our interactions.
8 people found this helpful
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Lawrence R.
5.0 out of 5 stars The title Megamachine, was not the Megamachine I was thinking...
Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2020
… I just discovered this author (and his book) only a few moments ago on a pod cast -which prompted me to pop over here to Amazon to in fact purchase this book!

… When I initially read the term ‘Megamachine’ I took it to mean a certain ‘apex’ of our modern technology. That is not what he seems to be referring to as ‘the Megamachine’ at all. Just before the eighteenth minute into this pod cast, he was talking about most of the so-called liberals back at the turn of the century who were quite opposed to giving voting rights to the masses of the population. He mentions that;
“… they were really afraid that if everyone had voting rights, that would be the end of the mega machine...”

… So, the Megamachine is ‘not’ to describe a technological phenomenon, as I thought if may have been his intention -the Megamachine is a cultural one. The Megamachine seems to be that over-powering juggernaut of our capitalist, neo-liberal, imperial, system -the very staus quo itself…

… This is an important distinction to bring up, simply because so many of our population are quite fascinated not only with artificial intelligence in general, but our own future potential for even greater and greater technological advancements in particular -i.e. our worldwide shift in these past few decades towards all things S.T.E.M. (science, technology, engineering and math) -at the quite obvious expense of all things far more ‘holistic’ and symbiotic...

… The interviewer -not surprisingly- brought up that exact scenario with our author. He suggested to the author that maybe a bigger and better super computer would help us out of our technological, cultural plunge over that metaphorical, existential cliff.

… Only a few paragraphs into the introduction of our author Fabian Scheidler’s tome (which I have already begun reading thanks to Amazons handy Kindle option), he suggests that no new technology is even necessary to develop, which might somehow mid-wife society out of our cultural malaise, in some far distant future. Our author informs us us that all of the solutions we would require are already available right here and right now. We just simply have to commit to its unfoldment.

… Our author tried to share the intricate complexity of even a simple cell -and the millions of molecules which made up the material of just one, singular cell itself. Our author was interrupted by the interviewer as he dismissively suggested that “most of the molecules are all the same, so you don’t really need to focus on all of them. One should only need to possibly focus on only a critical few.”

… And in that process, I would suspect -and suggest- that that super computer would present us with a most elegant -but equally simple formula- to that perceived problem which plagues us (as the best math formulas often do).

… And that mega computer would likely spit out some elegant formula, somewhat akin to; “the solutions you seek are all around you… you just simply have to commit to enacting them…”

“… wait… whaaa?…” I can almost hear our techno-geeks protesting.

“... reset the super-computer… that’s not the answer we were expecting...”
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BruceK
5.0 out of 5 stars Best holistic historical/economic/sociological book I've read. 5/5
Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2020
My brain is spinning ( in a good way ;-) ) from reading this all encompassing tome whose scope stretches from pre-history to present day tracing the evolution of humanity on this planet in all our institutions and systems. In simple language, and well-documented examples Scheilder cast light and intelligibility on technological human history - a truly enlightening book.

One criticism that makes so much sense is how Capitalism and Democracy have been confused by being conflated. This truism we've been sold by repetition are so ingrained they are hard to challenge, and we often do not even realize we've been herded by these truisms. Scheidler makes the case that Democracy developed as an opposition to the abuses of Capitalism, in other words, the polar opposite ... which makes so much more sense in terms of modeling the world and history and politics. This implies that the way to progress will come from people demanding their rights against a government which is more a corporation of powerful economic forces than an expression of the people's will.

Another concept is that the development and use of how coined money came from rulers seeking to force people to pay tribute to their hierarchy and join the economy in order to tax them. Put the important concepts that Scheidler explains together and an understanding falls out of how human history developed and why it is so toxic to so many people and the environment.

The End of the Megamachine: A Brief History of a Failing Civilization by Fabian Scheilder is a remarkable work that tells it like it, was and possibly will be. It is like a roadmap to tell us where we are in history and what our ancestor's place in the universe has been. This book is an absolute must read for anyone interested in all encompassing intuitive understanding of politics.

It would be great if the book could be in Audible/Audio format so that it is easier to focus on and absorb. It is packed with important ideas and demonstrates fundamental recursive trends in human history. 5/5
4 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Oana Burduja
5.0 out of 5 stars Good
Reviewed in Canada on October 19, 2022
Verified Purchase
Interesting book. Had to read it for political economy class but otherwise still a good read. Physical book looks nice too.
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Anonymous
5.0 out of 5 stars A must read book
Reviewed in Germany on April 29, 2021
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A brilliant book that should be mandatory for everyone.
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M Howard
5.0 out of 5 stars High Acclaim
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 15, 2021
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Got this for my husband and he started reading it yesterday. Already I have heard the sounds of high acclaim. Guess it must be in the five star category.
2 people found this helpful
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Nicholas Andrew
5.0 out of 5 stars Timely
Reviewed in Australia on September 26, 2020
Verified Purchase
Timely work that lays out the realities of our past and the current predicament our species is in. This is essential reading for anyone who wants a deep analysis of the multitude of challenges we face. The author also offers potential solutions.

Highly recommended.
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student of Russian
1.0 out of 5 stars Irrational tirade
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 12, 2021
Verified Purchase
In buying this book, I hoped for a rational analysis of capitalism or the 'megamachine' or of something. Instead I got an irrational tirade, full of unsupported sweeping statements, in which the author unloads on a lot of things he doesn't like, even when they've been going on from before when the megamachine existed.
2 people found this helpful
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