ANCIENT FUTURES, LEARNING FORM LADAKH

Helena Norberg-Hodge, Oxford India Paperbacks, 1991.

Ancient Futures raises important questions about the whole notion of progress, and explores the root causes of the malaise of industrial society. At the same time, the story of Ladakh serves as a source of inspiration for our own future.

Ladakh, or ‘Little Tibet’ is a place of few resources and an extreme climate. Yet, for more than a thousand years, it has been home to a thriving culture. Traditions of frugality and cooperation, coupled with an intimate and location-specific knowledge of the environment, enabled the Ladakhis not only to survive, but to prosper.

Then came ‘modernization’, ostensibly a means to ‘real’ prosperity. Now in the modern sector one finds pollution and divisiveness, intolerance and greed. Centuries of ecological balance and social harmony are under threat from the pressures of Western consumerism.

The author has worked with the Ladakhi people for many years to help them to protect their culture and environment from the effects of rapid modernization.

Apart from a little edgewear and some minor creasing to the covers, and a small, (matchhead) light stain on the closed page edges, the book is in good condition.