The Follies of the Western Mind
Published by Arktos, 2025
Amazon link, Amazon UK link, Amazon Germany link
Introduction
Introduction
What is thinking? What is it that calls on us to think? Who decides whatâs good and bad? Do modern societies really understand the meaning of peace? Has science become closed-minded? Does freedom mean the same for everyone? How does language affect the way people think? Is it possible to understand consciousness? What is it like to step back from a world riven by confusion? Is humanity on a collision course with destiny?
This book is about thinking. It is not a philosophy book, a spiritual book, nor a medical book, though it is a little bit of each. It is mostly about how people in the West think, and about how they donât think.
Those who live in the West have developed a closed mindset, bereft of spiritual freedom, and it is leading humanity into a dead-end: the risks are existential. Their thinking has become boxed-in, inflexible and blinkered. Like a deep-sea diverâs suit, Western thinking is weighed down, with restricted movement, and an outlook in only one direction. It has become stifling and constraining. Western minds have become trapped, while another world exists outside.
This book doesnât offer a way out of this prison of the mind. As the final chapter explains, it is up to each of us to find a way. The book offers instead some of the tools needed to escape, some hammers and spanners to pry open the bars.
The way out of this mental gaol is both simple and difficult. It is simple because it only requires some thought. It is difficult because it requires people to understand where they are, in this prison. It requires them to look at the world a little differently, to question deeply held beliefs and ideas. It requires them to understand that the way they view the world is not the only way. It requires them to see that there are alternatives, and that some of these might actually be better.
Foreword
With some details about the structure of the book which listeners need to understand
A chicken can’t lay a duck egg
To secure humanityâs future, vast swathes of the current economic system have to be dismantled. Until recently, that was thought impossible. Covid-19 proves this wrong. It IS possible to shut polluting industries and pay people during a transition. A sustainable future is finally within our grasp.
âThis cry from the heart from two top policy insiders is a must read!â Hazel Henderson, futurist and an economic iconoclast.
Download the factsheet from the book.
Change! Why we need a radical turnaround
The free English edition of Graeme Maxton’s best-seller, originally published in German
It is the defining battle of the 21st century and no Hollywood hero is coming to save us. In this radical and easy-to-read book the former Secretary General of the Club of Rome presents his manifesto for economic and social change. He shows how humanity can build a 20-year bridge to a better world. No matter what it costs, there is no option but change. Download the one page summary To do List or the proposals for change from his 2020 book Global Climate Emergency (also published in German).
Published by Komplett-Media 2018, in German. Change is also available in Slovak.
If you simply want to understand the climate problem, read the section “Waiting for nature to catch up”
Read or download the pdf version in English here.
Download an Epub version in English here.
Reinventing prosperity: Managing economic growth to reduce employment, inequality and climate change
âThe world faces a number of monumental challenges, ranging from persistent inequality and the ageing of population to climate change and the rise of the robot. In this innovative, accessible, and persuasive book, Maxton and Randers show that we donât need revolutionary changes to meet these challenges. They tell us how big changes can be â indeed, can only be â achieved through a set of reforms that are moderate enough to be politically feasible in the short run. An essential guide to those who want to change the world for the better â and for certain.â
Ha-Joon Chang, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge
The End of Progress: How modern economics has failed us
Nominated for the Financial Times Best Book About Business Award
As Graeme Maxton’s important and entertaining book demonstrates, modern economic theory contains fundamental errors which any intelligent child could spot. This is not just an academic problem; we’ve left economists to run the world – and the planet is careening towards disaster as a result. Graeme Maxton is one of the first observers to note that world economic growth has reached hard limits. We ignore this shattering news at our peril. But if we can rid modern economic theory of a few fundamental and obvious errors, the a transition to a sustainable and satisfactory new economy is entirely feasible. The End of Progress is a vitally important and highly readable book – read it and have your eyes opened!
The book has been published in German, where it was a Spiegel Top 20 bestseller, Romanian, Traditional Chinese and Czech.
Time for a model change: Re-engineering the global automotive industry
Cambridge University Press feature book of the year
“A powerful diagnosis and an imaginative blueprint for reform. The industry and everyone who depends on it would do well to take notice.” Sir Geoffrey Owen, London School of Economics
“A must-read for everyone in the automotive industry.” Ratan Tata, Chairman, Tata Sons
Written with Dr John Wormald.
Some other books and language editions written by Graeme Maxton
