Dark Age Ahead
рдЗрд╕ рдСрдбрд┐рдпреЛ рдмреБрдХ рдХреЗ рдмрд╛рд░реЗ рдореЗрдВ рдЬрд╛рдирдХрд╛рд░реА
A dark age is a cultureтАЩs dead end. In North America, for example, we live in a virtual graveyard of lost and destroyed aboriginal cultures. In this powerful and provocative book, renowned author Jane Jacobs argues convincingly that we face the coming of our own dark age.
Throughout history, there have been many more dark ages than the one that occurred between the fall of the Roman Empire and the dawn of the Renaissance. Ten thousand years ago, our ancestors went from hunter-gatherers to farmers and, along the way, lost almost all memory of what existed before. Now we stand at another monumental crossroads, as agrarianism gives way to a technology-based future. How do we make this shift without losing the culture we hold dearтАФand without falling behind other nations that successfully master the transition?
First we must concede that things are awry. Jacobs identifies five central pillars of our society that show serious signs of decay: community and family; higher education; science and technology; governmental representation; and self-regulation of the learned professions. These are the elements we depend on to stand firmтАФbut Jacobs maintains that they are in the process of becoming irrelevant. If that happens, we will no longer recognize ourselves.
The good news is that the downward movement can be reversed. Japan avoided cultural defeat by retaining a strong hold on history and preservation during war, besiegement, and occupation. Ireland nearly lost all native language during the devastations of famine and colonialism, but managed to renew its culture through the steadfast determination of its citizens. Jacobs assures us that the same can happen hereтАФif only we recognize the signs of decline in time.
Dark Age Ahead is not only the crowning achievement of Jane JacobsтАЩs career, but one of the most important works of our time. It is a warning that, if heeded, could save our very way of life.
рд▓реЗрдЦрдХ рдХреЗ рдмрд╛рд░реЗ рдореЗрдВ
Jane Jacobs (1916тАУ2006) was a writer and activist who championed new approaches to urban planning for more than forty years. Her 1961 treatise The Death and Life of Great American Cities became perhaps the most influential American text about the inner workings and failings of cities, inspiring generations of urban planners and activists. Her efforts to stop the building of downtown expressways and protect local neighborhoods invigorated community-based urban activism and helped end Parks Commissioner Robert MosesтАЩ reign of power in New York City.
Christine Williams is a singer and actor based in Ashland, Oregon. Her performance credits include productions at regional theaters and on concert stages across the country and around the world, from the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and the Barbican Centre in London to the Aspen Music Festival and the Grotowski Institute in Poland.
