The Great Decline: From the Era of Hope and Progress to the Age of Fear and Rage

It seems clear that many formerly stable societies in wealthy developed countries appear to be falling into an apparent state of 'permacrises', accompanied by an increasingly angry and irrational social and political culture that is undermining the peace and stability of our societies and democratic institutions, from the local to the global. Applying an original biosocial approach (the social map), and drawing on ideas and evidence from sociology, history and political economy to psychology, neuroscience and epigenetics, John Bone argues that conditions in our turbo-capitalist and increasingly estranged, media dominated societies have created a toxic environment, deeply damaging to our mental and physical health. As well as shedding new light on our current troubles, Bone also outlines why this leaves us ill prepared to deal with two of the greatest challenges confronting humanity: the rise of AI and automation and how we deal with climate change.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: The New Age of Angst PART I: Being Human in an Evolving World 1. Who Are We and Why Does It Matter? 2. The Long Road to Modernity 3. From Golden Age to Golden Age? PART II: Derailing the Modern Project 4. The Neoliberal ‘Dawn’: Mont Pelerin, Fear of Socialism and the Backlash of Privilege 5. Financial Alchemy and Economic Crises 6. Globalization, the ‘New’ Labour Market, AI and the 4th Industrial Revolution 7. Marketized Housing: An Insecure Base 8. Consumerism, Community and Media PART III: Permacrises 9. The Climate Emergency and Neoliberal Nihilism 10. Inequality, Insecurity and Minding the Gap 11. Populism and the Politics of Primalization 12. Public Issues as Personal Troubles: Individualizing Risk and the Health Costs of Turbocapitalism Conclusion: Where to Now?

About the Author :
John Bone is a social scientist at the University of Aberdeen and past Chair of the British Sociological Association. His research interests are in political economy, social and biosocial theory, inequalities, just transitions and health and well-being research. In 2007 he was jointly awarded the Philip Abrams Memorial early career Prize for his first book The Hard Sell.

Review :
"Unearths the biological and social roots of the deep malaise in which individuals in Western societies are currently immersed (…) based on a well-supported argument that draws on all fields of knowledge, starting with biology, neuroscience and epigenetics." Politique étrangère "Essential reading for anyone interested in making better sense of our ‘age of fear and rage’ and understanding where to start for moving beyond it.” Charles Masquelier, University of Exeter "Treading the line between impassioned polemic and unusual psychosociological analysis, The Great Decline tells you how, in very literal ways, neoliberalism messes with your mind. You should buy this book – preferably from your local brain-calming bookstore." David Inglis, University of Helsinki “A wonderfully accessible and convincing analysis of the extended period of instability and insecurity that we are living through, and its impact on individuals, communities and political and environmental sustainability.” Gayle Letherby, University of Plymouth “John Bone is an exciting scholar who seeks to return sociology to some of its earlier concerns with sociobiology but to apply these ideas to a fascinating diagnosis of the modern condition.” John D. Brewer, Queen's University Belfast “Full of interesting new ideas, and apposite insights.” Danny Dorling, University of Oxford "A provocative and thought-provoking book, Bone develops new vocabularies for theorizing the multifaceted and chaotic state of neoliberal capitalist disorder." Christopher Thorpe, University of Exeter