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A review by edmondduong
Desert by Anonymous
5.0
I mirror many critiques of the book by pointing out that most anarchists don't believe in the "global anarchist revolution" that the author criticises.
However, I also see many people deriding the author's discussion of population being "eugenic and eco-fascist", and I think these people have missed the point the author was trying to make there. Perhaps many were too eager to jump on any discussion on population, completely ignoring the author's statements. Here, they explain that as climate change occurs, areas become unliveable and arable land becomes more scarce, and current farming practices are unsustainable. As a result, the current population would not be sustainable. This is not the same argument that eco-fascists make that the reason for climate change is occurring is due to the increasing population, and thus eugenics must occur. In the author's worldview (which I believe to be correct), they believe that climate change, whatever the cause, is completely inevitable.
I found the book really easy to read and was well-researched, even if I didn't agree with all the points. The author evidently had a good understanding of the topic of climate change and the scenarios they've proposed were quite logical. The author also took care to discuss the disparate futures of the Global North and South from different points of view, and showed a clear understanding of how things have evolved to it's current state.
For an anarcho- and eco-pessimist book, it was surprisingly optimistic and not at all nihilistic. While acknowledging the dystopic futures that lay ahead, the author was quick to point out how some of the disadvantages we face can be our advantages as well (albeit perhaps somewhat too optimistically). Far from being defeatist, the author takes the viewpoint of our need to continue our resistance regardless of our circumstances.
Desert is obviously not a book that acts as an introduction to anarchy, but more so an introduction to ecological resistance for anarchists. And to this point, I think it performs well, demonstrating the importance of the ecology in our anarchist analyses.
However, I also see many people deriding the author's discussion of population being "eugenic and eco-fascist", and I think these people have missed the point the author was trying to make there. Perhaps many were too eager to jump on any discussion on population, completely ignoring the author's statements. Here, they explain that as climate change occurs, areas become unliveable and arable land becomes more scarce, and current farming practices are unsustainable. As a result, the current population would not be sustainable. This is not the same argument that eco-fascists make that the reason for climate change is occurring is due to the increasing population, and thus eugenics must occur. In the author's worldview (which I believe to be correct), they believe that climate change, whatever the cause, is completely inevitable.
I found the book really easy to read and was well-researched, even if I didn't agree with all the points. The author evidently had a good understanding of the topic of climate change and the scenarios they've proposed were quite logical. The author also took care to discuss the disparate futures of the Global North and South from different points of view, and showed a clear understanding of how things have evolved to it's current state.
For an anarcho- and eco-pessimist book, it was surprisingly optimistic and not at all nihilistic. While acknowledging the dystopic futures that lay ahead, the author was quick to point out how some of the disadvantages we face can be our advantages as well (albeit perhaps somewhat too optimistically). Far from being defeatist, the author takes the viewpoint of our need to continue our resistance regardless of our circumstances.
Desert is obviously not a book that acts as an introduction to anarchy, but more so an introduction to ecological resistance for anarchists. And to this point, I think it performs well, demonstrating the importance of the ecology in our anarchist analyses.