* Sweeping survey of world history offering a new understanding of the key challenge of our time
* Offers a positive message of hope for a sustainable and just future and a practical strategy for getting there

In The Great Turning, David Korten argues that "Empire," the organization of society through hierarchy and violence has always resulted in misery for the many and fortune for the few, but now it threatens the very future of humanity as Empire has become unsustainable and destructive.

Korten traces the roots of Empire and charts the evolution of its instruments of control, from absolute monarchies to the multinational institutions of the global economy. He describes efforts to develop democratic alternatives to Empire, such as the founding of the United States and shows how elitists with an imperial agenda have undermined the "American experiment."

Empire is not inevitable, and we can turn away from it. Korten draws on evidence from evolutionary theory, developmental psychology, and religious teachings to show that a life-centered, egalitarian, sustainable, democratic "Earth Community" is possible.

Table of Contents:

Choosing our Future
1) The Choice; 2) The Possibility; 3) The Imperative; 4) The Opportunity

Sorrows of Empire
5) When God was a Woman; 6) Ancient Empire; 7) Modern Empire; 8) The Athenian Experiment

America, the Unfinished Project
9) Inauspicious Beginning; 10) People Power Rebellion; 11) Empire’s Victory; 12) Struggle for Justice; 13) Wake Up Call; 14) Prisoners of the Mind

The Great Turning
15) Beyond Strict Father vs. Aging Clock; 16) Creation’s Epic Journey; 17) Joys of Earth Community; 18) Stories for a New Era

Birthing Earth Community
19) Leading From Below; 20) Building Consensus; 21) Liberating Creative Potential; 22) Change the Story, Change the Future

Copublished with Berrett-Koehler Publishers