Threshold: The Crisis of Western Culture

by Thom Hartmann

From America's #1 progressive radio host, the idealogical heir to his influential The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight

More than three million listeners tune in every weekday to hear what Thom Hartmann has to say about the state of our world. Now, as the first decade of the twenty-first century closes amid economic collapse and the seeming ruin of the American Dream, America's #1 rated progressive radio host sounds an urgent call to arms for building a better, more sustainable world-while there's still time. Offering not just an indictment of the failures that have courted economic, demographic, and environmental ruin, Hartmann also outlines five critical personal and policy solutions to bring us back from the brink. Threshold-like Jared Diamond's Collapse-is radical but rooted in common sense, illuminating the necessary next steps in the evolution of mainstream thinking.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, History, Environment, Cultural, Science, Ecology

268 pages, Hardcover

First published July 23, 2009

About the author

Thomas Carl Hartmann is an American radio personality, author, businessman, and progressive political commentator. Hartmann has been hosting a nationally syndicated radio show, The Thom Hartmann Program, since 2003 and hosted a nightly television show, The Big Picture, between 2010 and 2017.

Reviews

[Bradford D · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hartmann does a good job spelling out the thresholds that we are in danger of crossing. Namely the environment and our practice of using it like it's the last biscuit on the plate (grab it before someone else does), the economy and the fact that it has been made to serve our corporate oligarchy instead of the people on whom it draws its power, and the world's population which is expanding like a disease in a Petri dish past all hope of sustainability. He makes valid points on all of these issues and backs them up with historical examples that make reading easier. His path to recovery, however, reads like the Democratic playbook (Cap & Trade, Universal Health Care, Cut Defense spending). There are some good ideas in there, but it comes across too much like a campaign proposal instead of new academic ideas. We are past the tipping point on most of these issues and can no longer propose ideas that will make dollars for your cronies (Cap & Trade- How about just Cap?) or just build on the existing structure while offending the least amount of voters. Solutions are going to ruin some people's businesses and will be unpopular with many groups. A perfect example is the author. He proposes that population is using up our planet and that organized religion needs to stop dragging their feet on birth control all while cranking out 3 offspring of his own. These problems can be fixed, but it starts with individuals exercising self-control, not hoping government can bail us out.

[Glen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a spontaneous library borrow that I am glad I stumbled upon. Mr. Hartmann very simply lays down the most dire political, economic, environmental, and cultural problems facing humanity in the 21st century. He gives a brief history of how these problems came into being and how we have exacerbated these issues with ignorance and/or denial. His solutions involve more government, they involve higher taxes, they involve overturning the Supreme Court's decision to label corporations as people. The 1 percent and their shareholders our going to fight with everything they have to prevent us from making these necessary changes. Personally, even though big government and higher taxes are words that initially scare me, I think Mr. Hartmann is correct. Fascism is a much more frightening concept than higher taxes.

[Vanessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was very impressed with this book's intrioduction and had high hopes that it would go beyond the early incisive critique into more productive ideas about how to change. The book became repetitive and I was disappointed that later chapters that seemed to promise to be about something other than what he identifies as the 4 main values that plague Western culture kept going back to the same main arguments of early chapters. Not as substantive or hopeful as I'd thought from its intro. Another book to agree with but that offers little that is new--though perhaps newer to the mainstream, so that is good.

[Daniel Solera · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thom Hartman’s book is depressing. In its short 240 pages, he breaks down the different ways in which western culture is destroying the planet in near irreparable ways. In what can be called an antithesis to the Thomas Friedman approach of bottomless zeal, his bleak outlook focuses mostly on the unsustainable nature of western culture and the uncontrollable growth imperative of our capitalist system. By laying out these problems bare, he hopes that readers change the fundamental ways in which they see themselves as humans on this planet and adjust their lifestyles and systems of government for the better.

At the core of Hartman’s book is the fact that people have come to see themselves as something wholly apart from nature. Be it because we believe we have evolved past our animal brethren or because we believe God “created” us to be special, this preordained sense of superiority has led us to ravage our planet, grow to unwieldy numbers and scoff at the responsibility of fixing our mistakes. He argues that this sense of biological hegemony has also led us to devalue women, create wildly profligate and irresponsible economies, and harm the environment. At the root of these behaviors is culture, which means that a turnaround is possible only if we undergo a paradigm shift in thought and self awareness.

It becomes instantly clear that Hartman has a scathing dislike of modern conservatives, mostly because of their blind devotion to the so-called “free market”. Not only does he frequently bash popular whipping boys such as Ronald Reagan, Alan Greenspan, Milton Friedman and Ayn Rand, but he routinely praises the efforts of government action in the fostering and nurturing of local economies. In fact, the majority of the book would be anathema to the Republican Party. He believes that neoliberal policies that demand free trade for all countries unanimously lead to disaster; that protecting and promoting the growth of infant industries through tariffs on imported goods is a good thing; that all the Reagan tax cuts need to be reversed; that ultra rich CEO’s must surely be sociopaths, etc.

Hartman’s solutions to such a broad problem are equally broad. He calls for the restructuring of our economy so its inspired by biology, meaning 100% sustainability, no harmful waste products and an ever present conscientiousness towards the biosphere of which we are part. Accompanying these reforms would be a sharp increase in taxation, using Denmark, a country with high taxes but where most every social service is free, as a fitting benchmark. Among many other suggestions, he implores that we build schools, not bomb craters, in the countries of our enemies (he even specifically mentions Greg Mortenson’s work from Three Cups of Tea).

Although I agree with a lot of Hartman’s ideas, there were moments in the book where I thought he was being a bit too pedantic, even hypocritical. At one point, he complains that Republicans enjoy calling senators from the Democratic party “Democrat Senator” to minimize any connection to the word “democracy”. However, he repeatedly refers to the Great Depression as the “Republican Great Depression”, which is basically doing the same thing. Despite these childish moments though, it’s a great starting point for an introspective look at our culture and the pressing need to change it.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thom Hartmann's 2009 book "Threshold: The Crisis of Western Culture" was impressively ambitious in scope. The core message was a fresh warning that our American culture, and indeed almost all of the world's contemporary cultures, are on an unsustainable and disastrous path.

The book is overtly political, and summarizes American history as an experiment in democracy from 1776 to 1980, and then an experiment in corporate fascism from 1980 to the present, and he makes a good case that our fascist experiment is failing badly. If you find that assessment and terminology offensive, this is not your book.

Another note: this was my first read of a Hartmann book, and I deduce from other reviews that there may be some redundancy of material across his books, so you may wish to consider that if you have already read some of his other work.

Now to the nitty-gritty: an excellent read, composed of 13 separate essays, all of them very interesting. He crosses lots of territory: human history, politics, economics, the environment and sustainability issues, even some archaeology - and all of it is interesting and thought-provoking.

He is most interesting during long-running and fascinating digressions, posing and then studying questions like "are humans naturally peaceful or adversarial and war-like?" or "are human civilizations historically male or female dominated, and which is better?"

I really enjoyed this book!

[Anthony Chung · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book because it takes into consideration the foundation of successful political legislation to environmental sustainability. Using Maslow's theory of survival, Hartmann's argument is that the success of any government is grounded on the natural resources that support it. Once the basic needs of humans are depleted, we are relegated to war, death, and destruction.

The only argument that I have against this book is that many of the political views are entirely one sided. While I agree it would be difficult to explain both sides in a book like this, I can't help to think that in order to keep all of these arguments in context, you really need a book that tells a compelling argument to counter it. Since I'm well versed in the health care policy, I do have disagreements that corporations will always be less efficient than public works, but this is minor case because the Affordable Care Act have mechanisms to keep this in consideration. (ie, HMO's were created by for-profit institutions and were 25% more efficient in managing costs in health care.)

If you're curious about what tax-cuts, tariffs, environmental issues, trust-busting, minimum-wage, and gender equality really affect in government and how we live our lives, you really should read this book.

[Desiree · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Iroquois Confederacy, which our constitution was largely inspired by, required that all decisions be based on their impact on the seventh generation, and placed women in positions of equal power with men."

What the %^$& happened between then and now? Mr Hartmann mostly discusses that in his new book.

"As a result of a twenty-eight-year-long deregulatory spree, we've reached the point where it's painfully difficult for government to undo the damage done to our economic infrastructure by a few thousand millionaires and billionaires playing Monopoly."

Yep, the rich get richer, the poor get poorer and no one seems to be taking care of the earth and what we have done to it. The multi-national corporations have no responsibility, only care about the bottom line and have virtually taken over our government....

He talks about the fallacies of a free market ideology and several other factors effecting all of us in today's world. Defenitely recommended!

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Thom Hartmann and I agree with 99% of what he says but this book didn't really do it for me. It was too meandering and redundant without really offering anything new. Yes, Reagan sucks, but we need to sort of move past that. I also didn't really think that he added more value to the debate on the environment. This just seemed to lack the true depth of something like The Shock Doctrine and seemed too short and anecdotal to be considered "research." Maybe I'm being kind of harsh but I expected this to rock my liberal, bleeding-heart world and it was just so-so.

[Bradley Jarvis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A follow-on to "The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight" (which has more detail and I liked better), this book sketches out what Hartmann sees as the solutions to the world's emerging crises, key among them a change in the worldview of western culture. He pins his hopes for this unlikely scenario on the latest of the periodic disruptions (our current economic crisis) caused by unrestricted greed and waste, but admits it could just as easily get worse. This is a thought-provoking book for anyone who has not spent a lot of time looking at the big picture of human history and the global threats we have collectively precipitated.

[Shane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, easy and quick read. It's a bit repetitive, a little too focused on political ideology in parts. It could use a great deal more depth in substance and solutions. However, I give it 5 stars for the intellect and genuine passion for wanting to move the world forward with compassion and progress. I think for what it lacks as mentioned, an intelligent and compassionate reader can be inspired to take their thoughts a little more outside the box. That's where the real solutions are. Only good things can come from such personal growth. Without that inner progression, the greater good will suffer and we lose our humanity. Therefore, I highly recommend this book.

[Reading · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quality yet relatively surface introduction to the factors that are responsible for our troubled state of affairs. Deals with economic and environmental issues as they relate to human actions and choices but as far as steps to resolve/alter the direction we are heading, if you are looking for more than a pep talk based on a small number of case studies then you are reading the wrong book.

That said this is a fantastic introduction and will leave you wanting more details and hopefully concrete actions to take.

[Brian · Rating 2 out of 5]

It isn't so surprising that this book plays fast and loose with the facts; that, after all, is hardly an affliction that strictly exists on the left side of the political fence. The frustrating thing about this book is the failure to think through the consequences of his program.

With that said, there's some interesting discussion (if unnecessarily tendentious) about some things not often connected to this kind of argument -- and the environmental discussions are interesting.

[Marc · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just a combo/condensed version of Thom's other stuff that, while pulling good info from many of his other books, lacks some of the focus that those other books to stress what is so important. If you've read the prophet's way, Last hours, Screwed, and WWJEFFERSOND?, you can skip this one. Nothing new here.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hartmann has written a somewhat exaggerated liberal manifesto. The net impact of this book was just to make me more dogmatically certain of the importance of reforming health care, reducing carbon emissions, changing the tax laws, limiting corporate influence in politics, and empowering women. Now if only we could just convince a few tens of millions more people . . .

[Trevor Algatt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit more overtly-political than I anticipated (and at times one gets the sense that Hartmann likes the sound of his own voice a bit much), but the scope of Hartmann's knowledge and passion on the intertwining subjects of culture, politics, the economy, and the state of the planet are fascinated and impossible to refute.

[Carolyn Sheffield]

There are some outrageous theories put forth, but some of them actually might work. Did you know that parasites in the human body can help prevent symptom of allergies and MS?
Depressing book alright, but we need to take note of what has happened in the past and what we can do in the future to save life as we knew it, when the middle class was strong.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some very interesting chapters! There is a great range of diversity in this book! It kind of reads like a watered down version of Jared Diamonds Collapse with some progressive political rants thrown in!

[Nicholas George · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book sizes up the current political, economic and environmental morass the U.S. finds itself in very well. However, those who need to hear the message won't, and probably wouldn't heed it if they did.

[Barry Maxwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thom Hartmann has a grasp on such a diverse range of subjects, and this book spins all them together to give a enlightening perspective of our culture's path, and how we got here.

[Brendan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Only read half of this , it's like three different NPR radio programs going at the same time

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really slams Friedman. Maybe biased but has some good points. Would need to do more research to really judge.

[Larry Jebsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed it. learned much about how those with resoources are exploiting those without and that it has been warned to us since James Madison. Interesting stuff.

[Bryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thom Hartmann gets nauseating after a while.

[Dave Squires · Rating 3 out of 5]

If this book found a global following perhaps our blue planet home would sustain humanity longer than our present course. This was a good read.

[Nance · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing new here