Common Sense for the 21st Century

Only Nonviolent Rebellion Can Now Stop Climate Breakdown and Social Collapse

By: Roger Hallam

Narrated by: Tim Bruce

Length: 2 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's Summary

An urgent, essential, and practical call to action from the co-founder of Extinction Rebellion.

The climate crisis threatens global social collapse. Within a generation.

What to do?

Common Sense for the 21st Century outlines how movements around the world now need to come together to start doing "what works". This means engaging in mass civil disobedience to make real change happen. This booklet is not just theory, it is the call to action. The political class is not going to save us from extinction. We will be saved by ordinary people breaking the law. This is common sense - only rebellion can save us now.

Roger Hallam is the co-founder of Extinction Rebellion. He was an organic farmer in Wales, turned prize-winning academic, who applied his social scientific research to developing the radical tactics and strategy for this new climate change movement. His message to everyone is:

"Think on it but then act. Join the Rebellion. Let's get to it."

©2019 Roger Hallum (P)2019 Chelsea Green Publishing

Critic Reviews

 "...brilliant: wise, profound and persuasive." (George Monbiot)

"There is only one question. How do we stop climate change? In this tough-minded and uncompromising book, Roger Hallam gives the answer so many politicians and business people don't want to hear. Common Sense is not just an argument, it's an instruction manual for ripping through the complacency and corruption that will destroy our planet." (Paul Mason, author of Why It's Kicking Off Everywhere and PostCapitalism)

A great call to action and well thought out plan.

Roger has written in a way that anyone can understand. It is clear and consice. The book outlines coherent plans to make large-scale political change in a system that can no longer allow for traditional revolutions.

Roger makes some good points regarding citizen assemblies and bottom-up leadership in the case of crisis especially. The solution, as ever, is direct forms of democracy from the bottom up. From citizen’s assemblies to local parliaments, the reimplementation of political education, to educate our children on the language of capital, and to educate those around us past the lies. Market forces must be understood and seen for what they are, help those around you through mutual aid for one another and promote the well-being of those around you. Never forget that democracy doesn’t mean the government of the people, nor does it mean government for the people, these are both totalitarian ideas. It means government by the people, and government by the people is a moral statement and so must be started initially at a small, local scale where people can work together in communities. A new collective must emerge. We must explore the economic systems of Anarcho-syndicalism, distributism, and so on. There are alternatives and we must explore their successes despite what spin we’ve been taught.

This book taken in conjunction with Localism holds a solution. Groups like extinction rebellion, burning pink, and localist groups are all championing these ideas. A good quick read, especially worthwhile for those who don't yet understand activism or why it is done/ necessary. To not act is simply only a self-fulfilling prophecy.