This book argues that social transformation is both necessary and possible if democracies are to respond effectively to the climate crisis without social collapse.
Climate transformation and social transformation are intimately connected. Understanding how to address climate change requires a historical approach both to the climate and to our collective institutions of humanity. Drawing on the works of Karl Polanyi and Thomas Piketty, Nicholas Low traces the course of historic social transformations from Britain, Russia, and Australia to highlight key commonalities: social crisis, the widespread sense by those in power that -something has to change-, the shift in ideology, and the political champions that drove the change. Within its international scope, the book delves deeper into specific instances of inequality and poverty from Britain, the USA, Australia, and the Global South. It shows how these examples are connected with the current climate emergency. Finally, the author