Keith Akers (Author of The Lost Religion of Jesus)

Keith Akers liked Jean-françois Virey's review of Santayana (Arguments of the Philosophers): "Before I read this book, I was half-tempted to order a set of Santayana's complete works, in part because Sprigge was interested in him. By the time I was halfway through, I thought maybe "The Life of Reason" would be enough (mainly because I find th" Read more of this review »
Apr 02, 2025 10:50AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Santayana by T.L.S. Sprigge. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Santayana by T.L.S. Sprigge <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Keith Akers rated a book liked it Climate Change as Class War: Building Socialism on a Warming Planet by Matthew T. Huber	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Huber says that we need a working-class revolution and socialism in order to solve the climate crisis. I could agree with this part, but Huber seems to go further: we need socialism because it is both necessary AND sufficient to solve the climate cri ...more
Dec 09, 2024 03:31PM · 2 likes · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Climate Change as Class War by Matthew T. Huber. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Climate Change as Class War by Matthew T. Huber <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Keith Akers and 14 other people liked Stanley Wilshire's review of Climate Change as Class War: Building Socialism on a Warming Planet: "Important but frustrating. The core line of argument that the climate movement needs a focus on the role of capitalist power in production in producing the crisis and a strategy focused on building worker power in strategic sectors is important. The " Read more of this review »
Dec 09, 2024 03:29PM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Climate Change as Class War by Matthew T. Huber. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Climate Change as Class War by Matthew T. Huber <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Keith Akers rated a book really liked it The Sudden Appearance of Hope by Claire North	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
This is a fantasy novel about a woman named Hope, whom no one can remember — literally — unless she is physically in their presence, and for a few minutes afterward. It is an intriguing and well developed idea. The only negative (for me) is that ther ...more
Sep 19, 2024 09:07AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Sudden Appearance of Hope by Claire North. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Sudden Appearance of Hope by Claire North <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Keith Akers liked Jean-françois Virey's review of Ecological Ethics: An Introduction: Updated for 2018: "I am a dark green environmentalist or ecocentrist, but this book did not do it for me. The author's reticences about science and rationality grated against my deepest convictions, his meta-ethics seemed retrofitted for his politics (something I had a" Read more of this review »
Aug 28, 2024 08:45AM · see review
Keith Akers rated a book liked it Slow Down: The Degrowth Manifesto by Kōhei Saitō	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
OK: if you’re a Marxist or interested in Marxism, or if you’re interested in degrowth, definitely take a look at this book. I admire Kohei Saito for his books on Marx—really innovative new research into recently uncovered writings of Marx which reall ...more
Jul 07, 2024 03:54PM · 4 likes · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Slow Down by Kōhei Saitō. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Slow Down by Kōhei Saitō <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Keith Akers rated a book it was amazing A City on Mars: Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought This Through? by Kelly Weinersmith (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Lovely, comic, and informative. Settling space: what could possibly go wrong? All kinds of things, as it turns out. It’s not that any one single thing will doom space travel, so that we say, “OK, that’s it, this definitely will not work.” It’s that t ...more
Jun 14, 2024 09:01PM · 2 likes · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of A City on Mars by Kelly Weinersmith. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — A City on Mars by Kelly Weinersmith <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Keith Akers rated a book liked it The Morningside by Téa Obreht (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Not bad! This is interesting, perhaps 4 stars. One nice feature: it is not clear that this book is "magical realism." How do we know that Silvia is not just, you know, superstitious? Is this magical realism, told through the voice of one who truly un ...more
May 24, 2024 12:34PM · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Morningside by Téa Obreht. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Morningside by Téa Obreht <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Keith Akers rated a book liked it Slow Down: The Degrowth Manifesto by Kōhei Saitō	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
OK: if you’re a Marxist or interested in Marxism, or if you’re interested in degrowth, definitely take a look at this book. I admire Kohei Saito for his books on Marx—really innovative new research into recently uncovered writings of Marx which reall ...more
Apr 20, 2024 12:28PM · 4 likes · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Slow Down by Kōhei Saitō. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Slow Down by Kōhei Saitō <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Keith Akers and 60 other people liked Kelly (Maybedog)'s review of Ecotopia: "Update 5/23/25 Don't read this because if you don't give it an excellent rating you will be trolled to death. Most of the comments below aren't even just disagreements. They are cruel, insulting missives from people so narrow minded they think a book " Read more of this review »
Apr 10, 2024 10:15AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Ecotopia by Ernest Callenbach. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Ecotopia by Ernest Callenbach <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

Keith Akers liked Jean-françois Virey's review of Santayana (Arguments of the Philosophers):

"Before I read this book, I was half-tempted to order a set of Santayana's complete works, in part because Sprigge was interested in him. By the time I was halfway through, I thought maybe "The Life of Reason" would be enough (mainly because I find th" Read more of this review »

Keith Akers rated a book liked it

Climate Change as Class War by Matthew T. Huber

Climate Change as Class War: Building Socialism on a Warming Planet
by Matthew T. Huber

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1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Huber says that we need a working-class revolution and socialism in order to solve the climate crisis. I could agree with this part, but Huber seems to go further: we need socialism because it is both necessary AND sufficient to solve the climate cri ...more

Keith Akers and 14 other people liked Stanley Wilshire's review of Climate Change as Class War: Building Socialism on a Warming Planet:

"Important but frustrating. The core line of argument that the climate movement needs a focus on the role of capitalist power in production in producing the crisis and a strategy focused on building worker power in strategic sectors is important. The " Read more of this review »

Keith Akers rated a book really liked it

The Sudden Appearance of Hope
by Claire North

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1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

This is a fantasy novel about a woman named Hope, whom no one can remember — literally — unless she is physically in their presence, and for a few minutes afterward. It is an intriguing and well developed idea. The only negative (for me) is that ther ...more

Keith Akers liked Jean-françois Virey's review of Ecological Ethics: An Introduction: Updated for 2018:

"I am a dark green environmentalist or ecocentrist, but this book did not do it for me. The author's reticences about science and rationality grated against my deepest convictions, his meta-ethics seemed retrofitted for his politics (something I had a" Read more of this review »

Keith Akers rated a book liked it

Slow Down: The Degrowth Manifesto
by Kōhei Saitō

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1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

OK: if you’re a Marxist or interested in Marxism, or if you’re interested in degrowth, definitely take a look at this book. I admire Kohei Saito for his books on Marx—really innovative new research into recently uncovered writings of Marx which reall OK: if you’re a Marxist or interested in Marxism, or if you’re interested in degrowth, definitely take a look at this book. I admire Kohei Saito for his books on Marx—really innovative new research into recently uncovered writings of Marx which really changes what we think Marx was saying. This book, unfortunately, isn’t nearly as helpful.

The most unfortunate thing is that either a very serious typo, or a very serious misunderstanding, has crept into his discussion of climate change. On page 2, he says: “In 2016, the Paris Agreement proposed the goal of limiting the rise in average global temperatures to no more than 35.6 degrees F (and if possible, 34.7 degrees F) higher than they were before the Industrial Revolution.”

WHAT!? Did anyone proof this? A rise of “34.7 degrees F” would mean the end of most life on earth! You’ve got to be kidding. And he keeps this equation of C and F up for the entire book; it’s not just a one-off error.

It seems he has confused “degrees difference” with “temperature.” In fact, since Japan (and most of the world outside of the USA) uses Celsius, I suspect a translation issue: the translator misunderstood this, not the author. (Or possibly the author misunderstood this in writing for an American audience? How’s your Japanese?) 34.7 degrees F is 1.5 degrees Celsius, and 35.6 degrees F is 2 degrees Celsius in terms of temperature, but 2.7 and 3.6 degrees F in terms of degrees difference is what he surely means.

To convert C to F for “degrees difference,” you’d just multiply by 9/5. To convert C to F for “temperature,” you’d multiply by 9/5 and add 32, because Fahrenheit temperatures start at a different place than Celsius (0 degrees C = 32 degrees F). Have we got that now?

OK, once you adjust for this (apparent) translation error, this book still isn’t as helpful as it could have been. I would have preferred to see him lay out a range of alternatives for showing how Marx would address degrowth today. He lays out a framework with four choices: strong or weak state power, combined with either equality or inequality. He contrasts these four options: “Climate Maoism” (equality + strong state), “climate fascism” (inequality + strong state), “degrowth communism” (equality + weak state), and “barbarism” (inequality + weak state).

He then identifies Marx’s ideas with “degrowth communism” and equality plus a weak state. I don’t see this at all. I think the later Marx could equally have identified with “Climate Maoism.” This sounds more like the “dictatorship of the proletariat” that Marx talks about in The Critique of the Gotha Program. The transition to “the second state of communism” by contrast, could be “degrowth communism,” but that involves more than political changes, that involves cultural changes that we as human beings may never be able to make (in my opinion). I don't see much of an argument that this will or could happen. This takes the discussion into a realm that Marx never really discussed in depth. I think we need a strong state, at the beginning, to suppress the latent “capitalist” tendencies that will likely survive the initial glorious workers' takeover. Long live the thought of Chairman Mao!

OK, just kidding, I’m not a Maoist. But you see the point. What are we going to do if our nice, decentralized, local degrowth Colorado society is suddenly confronted with the reality that the equally nice, decentralized, local degrowth California society decides to burn coal? Because it’s cheaper, they’ll be able to out-compete the Colorado society economically and grow stronger. Whether capitalist or communist, a society committed to not burning coal because it causes greenhouse gas emissions that fry the planet, is going to need to think about this.

This point can be argued but, well, it doesn’t seem like we really see such an argument. And at many parts of the book, it seems he’s just rehashing parts of his other books about Marx, which is great if you’re not familiar with him. The book has some interesting ideas but it’s hard to follow the argument; how does this apply to modern-day Marxists (there must be a few of them left somewhere) or to modern-day degrowth activists (of which there are definitely some, but not very many).

In summary, this book is something of a mess. Kohei Saito is clearly a smart guy and expressed himself very well in his other books. I’m not sure what happened. If I were him, I’d try to circulate the manuscript to some other friends of similar political / cultural orientation and ask for comments. It’s not clear who his audience is. Hopefully it’s NOT just other Marxists or other degrowth activists. Try to appeal to someone — anyone! — outside of this circle. Me, for example.

We need to gain a wider audience for the very important topic of degrowth and all the environmental issues that now threaten to overwhelm our civilization. Social inequality is clearly a very big issue worldwide right now, so trying to see these issues through the lens of Marx’s thinking isn’t a bad idea at all. It deserves an audience. It just needs to be developed more thoroughly. ...more

Keith Akers rated a book it was amazing

A City on Mars: Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought This Through?
by Kelly Weinersmith (Goodreads Author)

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Lovely, comic, and informative. Settling space: what could possibly go wrong? All kinds of things, as it turns out. It’s not that any one single thing will doom space travel, so that we say, “OK, that’s it, this definitely will not work.” It’s that t ...more

Keith Akers rated a book liked it

The Morningside
by Téa Obreht (Goodreads Author)

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1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Not bad! This is interesting, perhaps 4 stars. One nice feature: it is not clear that this book is "magical realism." How do we know that Silvia is not just, you know, superstitious? Is this magical realism, told through the voice of one who truly un ...more

Keith Akers rated a book liked it

Slow Down: The Degrowth Manifesto
by Kōhei Saitō

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

OK: if you’re a Marxist or interested in Marxism, or if you’re interested in degrowth, definitely take a look at this book. I admire Kohei Saito for his books on Marx—really innovative new research into recently uncovered writings of Marx which reall OK: if you’re a Marxist or interested in Marxism, or if you’re interested in degrowth, definitely take a look at this book. I admire Kohei Saito for his books on Marx—really innovative new research into recently uncovered writings of Marx which really changes what we think Marx was saying. This book, unfortunately, isn’t nearly as helpful.

The most unfortunate thing is that either a very serious typo, or a very serious misunderstanding, has crept into his discussion of climate change. On page 2, he says: “In 2016, the Paris Agreement proposed the goal of limiting the rise in average global temperatures to no more than 35.6 degrees F (and if possible, 34.7 degrees F) higher than they were before the Industrial Revolution.”

WHAT!? Did anyone proof this? A rise of “34.7 degrees F” would mean the end of most life on earth! You’ve got to be kidding. And he keeps this equation of C and F up for the entire book; it’s not just a one-off error.

It seems he has confused “degrees difference” with “temperature.” In fact, since Japan (and most of the world outside of the USA) uses Celsius, I suspect a translation issue: the translator misunderstood this, not the author. (Or possibly the author misunderstood this in writing for an American audience? How’s your Japanese?) 34.7 degrees F is 1.5 degrees Celsius, and 35.6 degrees F is 2 degrees Celsius in terms of temperature, but 2.7 and 3.6 degrees F in terms of degrees difference is what he surely means.

To convert C to F for “degrees difference,” you’d just multiply by 9/5. To convert C to F for “temperature,” you’d multiply by 9/5 and add 32, because Fahrenheit temperatures start at a different place than Celsius (0 degrees C = 32 degrees F). Have we got that now?

OK, once you adjust for this (apparent) translation error, this book still isn’t as helpful as it could have been. I would have preferred to see him lay out a range of alternatives for showing how Marx would address degrowth today. He lays out a framework with four choices: strong or weak state power, combined with either equality or inequality. He contrasts these four options: “Climate Maoism” (equality + strong state), “climate fascism” (inequality + strong state), “degrowth communism” (equality + weak state), and “barbarism” (inequality + weak state).

He then identifies Marx’s ideas with “degrowth communism” and equality plus a weak state. I don’t see this at all. I think the later Marx could equally have identified with “Climate Maoism.” This sounds more like the “dictatorship of the proletariat” that Marx talks about in The Critique of the Gotha Program. The transition to “the second state of communism” by contrast, could be “degrowth communism,” but that involves more than political changes, that involves cultural changes that we as human beings may never be able to make (in my opinion). I don't see much of an argument that this will or could happen. This takes the discussion into a realm that Marx never really discussed in depth. I think we need a strong state, at the beginning, to suppress the latent “capitalist” tendencies that will likely survive the initial glorious workers' takeover. Long live the thought of Chairman Mao!

OK, just kidding, I’m not a Maoist. But you see the point. What are we going to do if our nice, decentralized, local degrowth Colorado society is suddenly confronted with the reality that the equally nice, decentralized, local degrowth California society decides to burn coal? Because it’s cheaper, they’ll be able to out-compete the Colorado society economically and grow stronger. Whether capitalist or communist, a society committed to not burning coal because it causes greenhouse gas emissions that fry the planet, is going to need to think about this.

This point can be argued but, well, it doesn’t seem like we really see such an argument. And at many parts of the book, it seems he’s just rehashing parts of his other books about Marx, which is great if you’re not familiar with him. The book has some interesting ideas but it’s hard to follow the argument; how does this apply to modern-day Marxists (there must be a few of them left somewhere) or to modern-day degrowth activists (of which there are definitely some, but not very many).

In summary, this book is something of a mess. Kohei Saito is clearly a smart guy and expressed himself very well in his other books. I’m not sure what happened. If I were him, I’d try to circulate the manuscript to some other friends of similar political / cultural orientation and ask for comments. It’s not clear who his audience is. Hopefully it’s NOT just other Marxists or other degrowth activists. Try to appeal to someone — anyone! — outside of this circle. Me, for example.

We need to gain a wider audience for the very important topic of degrowth and all the environmental issues that now threaten to overwhelm our civilization. Social inequality is clearly a very big issue worldwide right now, so trying to see these issues through the lens of Marx’s thinking isn’t a bad idea at all. It deserves an audience. It just needs to be developed more thoroughly. ...more

Keith Akers and 60 other people liked Kelly (Maybedog)'s review of Ecotopia:

"Update 5/23/25

Don't read this because if you don't give it an excellent rating you will be trolled to death. Most of the comments below aren't even just disagreements. They are cruel, insulting missives from people so narrow minded they think a book " Read more of this review »

Keith’s Year In Books

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Keith’s Bookshelves

Keith’s Friends (42)

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	The Lost Religion of Jesus: Simple Living and Nonviolence in Early Christianity 4.22 avg rating — 54 ratings — published 2000 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Disciples: How Jewish Christianity Shaped Jesus and Shattered the Church 4.37 avg rating — 19 ratings — published 2013 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Vegetarian Sourcebook: The Nutrition, Ecology, and Ethics of a Natural Foods Diet 4.38 avg rating — 13 ratings — published 1983 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Solutions to Violence by Colman McCarthy (Editor), Edward Guinan, Peter Ackerman 4.75 avg rating — 8 ratings — published 2002 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Embracing Limits: A Radical and Necessary Approach to the Environmental Crisis 4.71 avg rating — 7 ratings — published 2023 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Forgotten Beginnings of Creation and Christianity by Carl Anders Skriver, Keith Akers (Goodreads Author) (Translator), Angela Ingle (Translator) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 1990 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Guide to research in the Monash Law Library 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Vegetarian Sourcebook 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Keith’s Year In Books

Keith Akers’s Followers (89)

Keith’s Bookshelves

Keith’s Friends (42)

Keith Akers

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Combine EditionsKeith Akers’s books

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