The climate change challenge and the failure of democracy / David Shearman and Joseph Wayne Smith.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [169]-171) and index.

1. Has democracy failed? -- 2. Time and tide wait for no man -- 3. Hunger and thirst : the theft of food and water -- 4. Biodiversity, ecology, and population -- 5. Democracy is what you think it is -- 6. The end of politics? -- 7. Moribund liberalism : the collapse of liberal values -- 8. Is there an authoritarian alternative? -- 9. Plato's revenge -- 10. Can democracy be reformed?

"In this book, Shearman and Smith present evidence that the fundamental problem causing environmental destruction - and climate change in particular - is the operation of liberal democracy. Its flaws and contradictions bestow upon government - and its institutions, laws, and the markets and corporations that provide its sustenance - an inability to make decisions that could provide a sustainable society." "Having argued that democracy has failed humanity, the authors go even further and demonstrate that this failure can easily lead to authoritarianism without our even noticing. Even more provocatively, they assert that there is merit in preparing for this eventuality if we want to survive climate change."--BOOK JACKET.