Rebels Against Oblivion: Fighting for the Future in the Age of Ecocide

The defining book of the dawning age of climate revolt — armed with the latest science and buttressed by ecological models, theories of political change, philosophies of degrowth, and narratives of unforgettable characters.

Rebellion or Oblivion tells the story of people around the world who believe that techno-industrial capitalism is not sustainable in the long run, and that radical change is required to right the course of humanity so that we learn to live at last within the limits of our finite Earth. The rebels he profiles include:

• climate disobedients in the UK such as Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil, who blockade streets, highways, and airports, and pay the price with draconian prison sentences;
• direct actionists putting their bodies on the line to protect farmland in France, where the state serves big-money agricultural interests against the rights and well-being of citizens;
• eco-saboteurs who go underground to attack the property of nature-ravaging corporations; and
• Indigenous tribespeople in Peru, India, and the western US who refuse to bow before capital and profit, occupying their threatened sacred land in immoveable masses.

As he takes readers through the riveting drama of the rebels’ surprising victories and manifold defeats, the ultimate question that Christopher Ketcham seeks to answer is the one that should be on all our minds: will climate chaos and ecological breakdown lead to authoritarianism and full-blown climate fascism? Or will we have radical democracy that maximises justice and equity, despite the collapse of the biophysical underpinnings of modern society?