Supercapitalism

This is an interesting article/book review on economics and politics. I like to read about these things from people (Tony Judt, NY Review of Books on Robert Riech's Supercapitalism) who make connections with historical circumstances of the past. I think this comes close:

"There are two overriding reasons to worry about the soul of the city, and to fear that it cannot be satisfactorily substituted with a story of indefinite economic growth, or even the creative destruction of the wrecking ball of capitalist innovation. The first reason is that this story is not very appealing. It leaves a lot of people out, both at home and abroad; it wreaks havoc with the natural environment; and its consequences are unattractive and uninspiring. Abundance (as Daniel Bell once observed) may be the American substitute for socialism; but as shared social objectives go, shopping remains something of an underachievement.

and

Fear is reemerging as an active ingredient of political life in Western democracies. Fear of terrorism, of course; but also, and perhaps more insidiously, fear of the uncontrollable speed of change, fear of the loss of employment, fear of losing ground to others in an increasingly unequal distribution of resources, fear of losing control of the circumstances and routines of one's daily life. And, perhaps above all, fear that it is not just we who can no longer shape our lives but that those in authority have lost control as well, to forces beyond their reach.

I'm starting to feel this dread more and more... I'm not optimistic. Change is on the way and I think our current system is set it up so that change will happen quickly, not gradually. And I'm not just talking about climate change, although that will probably be the main driver. I really need to think about if there is any way I can prepare...? I don't know.