The authors—Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway—identify The Collapse of Western Civilization as a cross between a historical text and a work of science-fiction, both of which are geared toward understanding the present. The fictional, three-part essay is narrated by a future historian living in the Second People’s Republic of China. The historian addresses the Period of the Penumbra running from 1988 to 2093, and the subsequent Great Collapse and Mass Migration spanning 2073 through 2093. During the Period of the Penumbra, a second Dark Age arose driven by climate and science denial and a “fixation” on free-market capitalism.

Chapter 1 opens with a map of the Netherlands—most of which is underwater—comparing the sea levels from the years 2000 and 2300.

Unlike previous collapsed civilizations, the Western civilization of the 21st century left detailed records of its demise. Specialists in 2300 have agreed that the people in the 21st century understood what was happening but did not act to stop it—“Knowledge did not translate into power” (2). A three-part Industrial Revolution, first taking place in the United Kingdom, then the remainder of Europe and the United States, then Brazil, China, and India, increased the carbon dioxide (CO₂) and water in the

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