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Review
The writing style of this reportage is compact, urgent, present-tense, declarative, and addictive. - Andy Beckett, Guardian
He s lively, funny and engaging, trading in the energy derived from the thrill and significance of what he s witnessing. -Phil Harrison, Time Out
Superb overview of the global protest movements of 2011. - New Internationalist
This book not only reads as an in-depth consideration of global politics today, but offers a personal memoir from a man who has had a ringside seat. We are blessed that the BBC, for all the criticisms, still employs journalists whose logic and unfailing inquisitiveness brings us such analysis. --Dan Carrier, Camden New Journal
You will learn something new and challenging on every page of this book.- Kenny Farquharson, Scotland on Sunday
The mix of wide-ranging reportage and historical analysis is lively and insightful. --Claire Allfree, Metro
Praise for Meltdown: A page-turning account - Mason is refreshingly clear-eyed - and angry. --Will Hutton, Guardian
Praise for Meltdown: What people need is a reliable guide to the financial crisis - Meltdown is the book they are looking for. --John Gray, New Statesman
Praise for Meltdown: A lucid and sharply polemical account of the crisis. --Oliver Kamm, The Times
Praise for Meltdown: A lucid and sharply polemical account of the crisis. --Oliver Kamm, The Times
He s lively, funny and engaging, trading in the energy derived from the thrill and significance of what he s witnessing. -Phil Harrison, Time Out
Superb overview of the global protest movements of 2011. - New Internationalist
This book not only reads as an in-depth consideration of global politics today, but offers a personal memoir from a man who has had a ringside seat. We are blessed that the BBC, for all the criticisms, still employs journalists whose logic and unfailing inquisitiveness brings us such analysis. --Dan Carrier, Camden New Journal
You will learn something new and challenging on every page of this book.- Kenny Farquharson, Scotland on Sunday
The mix of wide-ranging reportage and historical analysis is lively and insightful. --Claire Allfree, Metro
Praise for Meltdown: A page-turning account - Mason is refreshingly clear-eyed - and angry. --Will Hutton, Guardian
Praise for Meltdown: What people need is a reliable guide to the financial crisis - Meltdown is the book they are looking for. --John Gray, New Statesman
Praise for Meltdown: A lucid and sharply polemical account of the crisis. --Oliver Kamm, The Times
Praise for Meltdown: A lucid and sharply polemical account of the crisis. --Oliver Kamm, The Times
Product Description
Our world is changing dramatically. The global economic crisis has given way to social crisis: corrupt and dictatorial politics enmeshed with a global financial elite - and an ever-widening gulf between the haves and have-nots. In 2011 this profound disconnect found expression in events that we were told had been consigned to history: revolt and revolution. In this compelling new book, Paul Mason sets out to explore the causes and consequences of this new wave of struggle. From London to Cairo, Wisconsin to Tehran, he charts the new forms of collective action: fluid networks of agile, Twitter- and Facebook-savvy networks of youthful protesters who understand how power works. The events, says Mason, reflect the expanding power of the individual and call for new ways of thinking about political alternatives, elite rule and global poverty.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I only know Mason's work since he became BBC Newsnight's Economics Editor but this book is an excellent addition to his broadcast work. Mason has an ability not only to penetrate and analyse the economic issues that stirred up the recent revolutions, but he has an understanding of politics, sociology and technology. In this relatively short and accessible book, he is able to compare revolutions in previous decades and centuries and highlight the similarities with the Arab Spring and Occupy movements in the West.
Other people have gone into more detail, but I would just add that if you want a good understanding of why it happened, then buy this book.
Other people have gone into more detail, but I would just add that if you want a good understanding of why it happened, then buy this book.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is an important book and I strongly recommend it. It is very well written and effortlessly readable, but also delves into very serious stuff about the structure of the world as it currently is. The basic theme is inequality, and the effect that has when things get economically tough. One of the important points that @Paulmasonnews has brought out, is that the protests and `revolutions' we have seen over the last few years are not just the `normal' rumblings of the economic cycle. This time the evidence (presented in the book) suggests that we are probably at an important decision point for the world; one akin to some of the most world shaping points in the past. The sense delivered by the book is that the current Masters of the Universe are desperately trying to hold the current World Order together, but they can't. This follows on from @Paulmasonnews previous book, Meltdown Meltdown: The End of the Age of Greed, which documented the financial crises of 2008 and forwards.
But it looks like the financial crises, although very serious, were just a catalysis for what might come next. It's as if the world has woken up from a complacent slumber to realise that its hopes and dreams are empty, except for the lucky, mega-rich few. The politicians of the world don't grasp this. They are not leading, because the new situation is outside of their understanding. The book doesn't suggest solutions. It documents what has happened and attempts to explain why it has happened now, but for me one of the important aspects is the effect that social media opens up - which is unpredictable emergent behaviour. Although the book doesn't propose solutions, it does demand that the reader thinks hard about what they might be. For example, is inequality an inherent part of the current world system? What sustainable alternatives are there to liberal capitalism? Although scientific advances are important (and we scientists must strive for them) can they be enough to reach an equitable equilibrium?
But it looks like the financial crises, although very serious, were just a catalysis for what might come next. It's as if the world has woken up from a complacent slumber to realise that its hopes and dreams are empty, except for the lucky, mega-rich few. The politicians of the world don't grasp this. They are not leading, because the new situation is outside of their understanding. The book doesn't suggest solutions. It documents what has happened and attempts to explain why it has happened now, but for me one of the important aspects is the effect that social media opens up - which is unpredictable emergent behaviour. Although the book doesn't propose solutions, it does demand that the reader thinks hard about what they might be. For example, is inequality an inherent part of the current world system? What sustainable alternatives are there to liberal capitalism? Although scientific advances are important (and we scientists must strive for them) can they be enough to reach an equitable equilibrium?
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
What is most interesting about this book, for me, is in what it points to further down the road. While it argues for more equal societies, often in the light of rising food prices, I wonder what will happen when food prices bolt due to the disruptions of peak oil and climate change. This will apply to all parts of the world. No nation state can contain food price rises in a global market on an ongoing basis.
While protest and revolution may topple a dictatorial hierarchy, what system could possibly survive in the coming decades? It seems that the methods and energy of interaction, and the creativity of both, will instead be needed in the development of resilient societies.
Hierarchies may have difficulties in asserting themselves over time, when so much emphasis will be needed on food and energy production. The global networks of today are most likely to shrink back to much more local communities. Presiding over these in even some neo-feudal state will be virtually worthless, in that there will be little of material value to effectively stockpile. Wealth will be found only in the wealth of the whole, and the pyramids of power will flatten enormously.
I have begun reading Acemoglu and Robinson's 'Why Nations Fail', immediately after Mason's book. The matter of institutional development is central to their argument over what produces prosperity. Connecting that with the equality argument at the heart of Mason's book gives a reasonably clear picture on ways forward. However, the matter of human nature is always going to allow for disruption in any system.
Culturally, it may take time for the idea of a central ruler to fade, but one would hope that whatever form our future takes, it will be one which is more equal, and better designed to make the most of human creativity, energy and community.
While protest and revolution may topple a dictatorial hierarchy, what system could possibly survive in the coming decades? It seems that the methods and energy of interaction, and the creativity of both, will instead be needed in the development of resilient societies.
Hierarchies may have difficulties in asserting themselves over time, when so much emphasis will be needed on food and energy production. The global networks of today are most likely to shrink back to much more local communities. Presiding over these in even some neo-feudal state will be virtually worthless, in that there will be little of material value to effectively stockpile. Wealth will be found only in the wealth of the whole, and the pyramids of power will flatten enormously.
I have begun reading Acemoglu and Robinson's 'Why Nations Fail', immediately after Mason's book. The matter of institutional development is central to their argument over what produces prosperity. Connecting that with the equality argument at the heart of Mason's book gives a reasonably clear picture on ways forward. However, the matter of human nature is always going to allow for disruption in any system.
Culturally, it may take time for the idea of a central ruler to fade, but one would hope that whatever form our future takes, it will be one which is more equal, and better designed to make the most of human creativity, energy and community.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Every body should read this
A really interesting book that everybody with a passing interest in this world and what is going on in it should read.
Published 1 month ago by Mr. W. Allbrook
Uprisings, protests and revolutions and the expanding power of the...
Paul Mason has become well known as the economics editor of Newsnight. In this book he explores the causes and consequences of the great unrest, around the world; from Cairo to... Read more
Published 2 months ago by A. Drakou
Phenominally interesting: perhaps most thought-provoking thing I've...
This is an out-standing book, building on a good blog (which impressed me at the time) and one I have recommended to a lot of people since. Read more
Published 3 months ago by R. J. M. Baines
Complete your Political Education
This is a must read for modern turbulent times, it will have you in tears of grief and frustration. At the end of this book you will be sadder but wiser
Published 3 months ago by E. J. Kirkaldie
A must read
Great book, absolutely packed with lightbulb moments where your going 'why didn't I spot that' He also writes very well, the descriptive passages make you feel you are actually on... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Andrew
The People's nets to pull down the Hierarchy?
Its hard to imagine a short book doing a better job capturing the essence of the global post-crises protest movement. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Feyd
Getting up to speed on what's going on
I'm not sure how Paul Mason managed to pack so much reportage into the last year or so but the result is a brilliant summary of what is happening in all the World's flashpoints... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Mr. C. Davison
I knew I was right
You would have to be an idiot or live in a cave not to guess that social media and the smart phone did not having a role in the recent revolutions and activisms but the deeper... Read more
Published 4 months ago by J. S. Bywater-lees
Well worth reading, whatever your leanings
Time magazine named "The Protester" the person of the year in 2011. This book is the first comprehensive attempt I've read, written late in 2011, to fathom why protestors have... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Albert
The end of Globalisation?
Paul Mason's "Why It's All Kicking Off Everywhere" is an equally ambitious attempt to provide a journalistic account of the underpinnings behind the revolutions and protest... Read more
Published 4 months ago by James Denselow
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