A Blueprint for survival

by Edward Goldsmith (Contributor)

Review of ecological problems

Genres: Environment, Science, Ecology, Nonfiction

173 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1972

Reviews

[Sara Hughes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I discovered this book from seeing a woman read it throughout the 2022 psychological horror film Enys Men, which is super abstract and metaphorical, so I wanted to read it and see how it might relate to the film. Fifty years ago this book, or shall I say manifesto, was published to warn humanity that our industrial way of life was not sustainable. To quote the book, it was written“to prevent the breakdown of society and the irreversible disruption of the life-support systems on this planet.” The text offers numerous, specific guidelines on how to change the way we live to avoid economic disaster and global crisis, and literally no progress has been made since then LOL. This book foreshadowed our future, and honestly there’s many parts that you just can’t argue with on paper. However, the arguments are not without their issues. It speaks a lot about creating small communities and staying put within those physical communities to reduce environmental impact, which makes sense in regards to food sustainability and the fact that having community is good for mental health. But it largely ignores the human need to travel and experience other parts of the world. It wants people to live in these de-centralized communities because “it is too difficult to enforce moral behaviour in a large community.” This seems extremely cultish to me. The book is also problematic in talking about the problem of over-population, often hinting at eugenics. It says, “a growing population would surely lead to misery and vice.” Overall, the book is trying to draw people’s attention to the urgency of environmental problems before it’s too late, and it was pretty fascinating to read about it in 2023 when one could argue it’s already way too late. It’s an interesting companion piece to Enys Men, and now I find myself thinking about both.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting manifesto with some good common themes. It strongly links into current degrowth literature. Some aspects I would describe as interesting, other passages boring, and many sections simply wrong. The statistics are hopelessly out of date and the author focuses on many areas that are not that relevant today. Still worth a read due to being very short.

[Minx · Rating 4 out of 5]

While many of that statistics are outdated for today the points made in this book remain more relevant than ever.
A very important piece in the history of the environmental movement.

[José Van Rosmalen]

In het Nederlands: blauwdruk voor overleving. Uitgeverij Contact, 1973