Megachange : economic disruption, political upheaval, and social strife in the 21st century / Darrell M. West.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Big, unexpected changes are here to stay.



Slow, incremental change has become a relic of the past. Today's shifts come fast and big, what Darrell West calls megachanges, in which dramatic disruptions in trends and policies occur on a regular basis.



Domestically, we see megachange at work in the new attitudes and policies toward same-sex marriage, health care, smoking, and the widespread legalization of marijuana use. Globally, we have seen the extraordinary rise and then collapse of the Arab Spring, the emergence of religious zealotry, the growing influence of nonstate actors, the spread of ISIS-fomented terrorism, the rise of new economic and political powers in Asia, and the fracturing of once-stable international alliances.



Long-held assumptions have been shattered, and the proliferation of unexpected events is confounding experts in the United States and around the globe. Many of the social and political institutions that used to anchor domestic and international politics have grown weak or are in need of dramatic reform.



What to do? West says that we should alter our expectations about the speed and magnitude of political and social change. We also need to recognize that many of our current governing processes are geared to slow deliberation and promote incremental change, not large-scale transformation. With megachange becoming the new normal, our domestic and global institutions must develop the ability to tackle the massive economic, political, and social shifts that we face.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

The author defines "megachange" as "... dramatic disruptions in trends and policies that occur on a regular basis." Taking that working definition, the author defines, and then populates, a series of baskets with examples that substantiate his premise. Presentism (assuming the present circumstance will last into the future), foreign affairs, domestic politics, zealotry, etc., fill the various baskets. The challenges of navigating the future and coping with megachange are also dealt with, although far more briefly. A chapter on future possibilities rounds out the author's presentation. This is largely a work of synthesis, with a useful summation of the observations of others presented in clear and concise language buttressed by many examples. In this respect it is valuable to the reader. Solutions are, at best, sketchy (perhaps an unfair expectation of the author). This is an eminently readable and useful text that helps place the "present" into context while suggesting some corrective measures to mitigate current circumstances for a more positive future. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. --Stuart A. Schulman, CUNY Baruch College