This essay about the Grand Derangement, meaning the present climate change that we are experiencing, is a fascinating reading. Amitav Ghosh makes us reflect on this period from three different perspectives: literature (stories), history, and politics, all three very relevant to understand that the human being has great difficulties looking further than the end of her/his nose. All three parts show that we are very good at ignoring what could benefit the community’s wealth and are very self-centered. Rich versus poor, East versus West, common sense versus the immediate pleasure of a “bourgeois” life. Interesting and frightening.
“Every human being who has ever lived has played a part in making us the dominant species on this planet, and in this sense every human being, past and present, has contributed to the present cycle of climate change.”