David Korten, author of When Corporations Rule the World and The Post-Corporate World: Life after Capitalism has written a new book, The Great Turning: from Empire to Earth Community. In this book, Korten argues that corporate consolidation of power is merely a contemporary manifestation of “empire”—domination grounded in the hierarchical and violent chauvinisms of gender, race, nationality, religion, and class. Increasingly destructive of children, family, community and nature, the way of Empire is leading to environmental and social collapse. The Great Turning makes the case that humans at this moment face both the opportunity and the imperative to choose our future as a conscious collective act. A convergence of Peak Oil, Peak Natural Gas, global warming and the financial instability of our monetary and global trading systems will bring an unraveling of the corporate-led global economy and a dramatic restructuring of every aspect of our lives.

A group is forming to discuss the book and Korten’s ideas on how to turn a potentially terminal crisis into an epic opportunity to create a cooperative Earth community. The group will have a 5-meeting, 2-hour session format, with sessions being aligned with each of the five parts in the book. Meetings will be held at the First Unitarian Universalist Church, 93 W. Weisheimer Rd. in Clintonville. To join this group, contact or visit www.circainfo.org. See Community Events for details of Korten’s visit to Columbus on Oct. 13-14.