Before it is too Late

A book which had a huge influence on me 30 years ago was a dialogue between Arnold Toynbee and Daisaku Ikeda called Choose Life, representing Toynbee's mature reflections on the human condition and its relation to the planet. Toynbee was then in his 80s, while Ikeda was still in his 40s. This dialogue is not dissimilar in scope, and engages Aurelio Peccei, the founder of the Club of Rome. First published 25 years ago, it is still chillingly relevant and a reflection of how little underlying progress has been made in addressing the world problematique - the interconnected set of challenges we face, or, as Peccei puts it 'causes, problems and solutions are all interlinked in one great continuum.'.

As with Toynbee, the authors call for an individual renewal of vision and values from within at the same time as deeply reflecting on our relationship with nature - Peccei himself asserts that our oneness with Nature is the primary element of our being. However, as he observes, we are paradoxically in our most dangerous situation at the peak of our power, so that we are inclined to 'do what we can do, not what we ought to do', prioritising technology over the biosphere and neglecting the mismatch between our technological sophistication and our behavioural obsolescence. Nothing, he insists, can be lasting 'until and unless we succeed in re-establishing peace and harmony with Nature.' This, he maintains, along with Thomas Berry, is the Great Work or the basic imperative of our age, which ought to be a primary consideration at Copenhagen. The dialogues explore this possibility.