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What's the worst that could happen? : existential risk and extreme politics
Leigh, Andrew, 1972-2021
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Leigh explains that pervasive short-term thinking leaves us unprepared for long-term risks. Politicians sweat the small stuff-granular policy details of legislation and regulation-but rarely devote much attention to reducing long-term risks. Populist movements thrive on short-termism because they focus on their followers' immediate grievances. Leigh argues that we should be long-termers- broaden our thinking and give big threats the attention and resources they need.Leigh outlines the biggest existential risks facing humanity and suggests remedies for them. He discusses pandemics, considering the possibility that the next virus will be more deadly than COVID-19; warns that unchecked climate change could render large swaths of the earth uninhabitable; describes the metamorphosis of the arms race from a fight into a chaotic brawl; and examines the dangers of runaway superintelligence. Moreover, Leigh points out, populism (and its crony, totalitarianism) not only exacerbates other dangers but is also a risk factor in itself, undermining the institutions of democracy as we watch.
Main title:
What's the worst that could happen? : existential risk and extreme politics / by Andrew Leigh.
Author:
Imprint:
Cambridge, Massachusetts : The MIT Press, 2021.
Collation:
234 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.
Notes:
"An analysis of the ways in which populist politics place our long-term well-being at risk, exploring pandemics, climate change, nuclear war and other issues"--Provided by publisher.Includes bibliographical references (pages 171-209) and index.
Contents:
Why the future mattersBad bugsA second venusFirst we got the bombThe last inventionWhat are the odds?The populist riskThe death of democracyFixing politicsThe endAcknowledgments.
ISBN:
9780262548519 (paperback)
Dewey class:
320.56
Language:
English
Added title:
BRN:
506161
More Information:
| Location | Collection | Call number | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Marys | Nonfiction | 320.56 WHA | Onloan - Due: 03 Feb 2025 |