Ecocivilization: Making a World that Works for All

by Jeremy Lent

“One of the greatest thinkers of our age" (The Guardian) presents a new way of living—one modeled on nature’s design instead of capitalism's—for fans of Guns, Germs, and Steel and Doughnut Economics

It has often been said that it is easier to imagine the end of the world than it is to imagine the end of capitalism—and yet that is what the historical moment urgently calls for. Climate change has reached an emergency state, inequality continues to grow, and, for many, the future has never seemed more bleak. Incremental policy improvements are no longer enough—we need a deep transformation of our current civilization to continue to survive.  

In Ecocivilization, leading thinker Jeremy Lent reimagines the basis of our civilization, and argues for a new global system of living, one based on life-affirming principles modeled after nature’s own design. What enfolds is a robust framework incorporating Lent’s own expertise, and the lived experiences of those on the ground already putting ecological civilization’s core tenants into practice—justice, mutuality, diversity, and symbiosis. 

From the global economy to universal housing and income, from infrastructure to agriculture, every major aspect of our society could be redesigned to work together as a coherent whole, setting the conditions for all people to flourish. Ecocivilization shows how this future on a regenerated Earth is not only desirable, but entirely feasible.

Kindle Edition

Expected publication May 26, 2026

About the author

I’m author of The Patterning Instinct, (Prometheus Books, May 2017), and founder of the nonprofit Liology Institute. I’m passionate about doing my part to make a difference in humanity’s future trajectory. I’ve come to believe that our global society needs a transformational shift in our underlying values if we want a sustainable and flourishing future for the human race.

The Patterning Instinct: A Cultural History of Humanity’s Future, is based on a simple but compelling theme – culture shapes values, and those values shape history. The book identifies the root metaphors that cultures have used to construct meaning into their universe – from hunter-gatherer times to our current precarious civilization – and traces how these have affected the course of history. Taking the reader on an archaeology of the mind, it reveals the hidden layers of values that form today’s cultural norms and asks: how can we shape humanity’s destiny by consciously forging our own structures of meaning into our lives?

The Liology Institute, of which I’m president, is dedicated to fostering a worldview that could enable humanity to thrive sustainably on the earth. Liology offers the experience of living life in an integrated, embodied and connected manner. Instead of the conventional search for a transcendent source of meaning, liology finds the most profound meaning in life arising from our intrinsic connectedness with every cell and integrated system within our own bodies and with every living entity in the natural world in which we are embedded. Liology sees humanity as a fractal entity within the natural system of the earth.

Years ago, in what seems like another life, I was founder and CEO of an internet company. Now, I’m living happily in the San Francisco Bay Area with my amazing wife, Lisa Ferguson. Together, we’re trying to do our bit to make the world a better place.