Graeme Donald Snooks's Books

Ark of the Sun

The Improbable Voyage of Life

By: Graeme Donald Snooks

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Ark of the Sun

The Improbable Voyage of Life

By: Graeme Donald Snooks

ARK OF THE SUN provides an entirely new and holistic explanation for the origin and transformation of both life and human society. It does so by employing the revolutionary, demand-driven, general dynamic theory developed by Graeme Snooks over a life-time of cutting edge research. This book provides the capstone to Professor Snooks' extensive research, spanning five decades, on biological and social evolution. ARK OF THE SUN shows and explains how life on Earth is driven and shaped by a dynamic life system the author calls the "strategic logos." The "logos" is an entropy-defying, shock-deflecting system that has enabled biological forms and their societies to prosper in a hostile world. It is a system composed of materialist forces conceptually similar to the cosmos analysed by physicists, and to the human mind studied by psychologists. This book is essential to the understanding of life not only on Earth, but also wherever else in the Universe it might have emerged. And the theories it contains make possible what the intellectual tradition stretching from the ancient Greeks, through Hegel, Schopenhauer, Marx, Darwin and Freud, down to the present, could never achieve -- a holistic understanding of biological and social dynamics. ARK OF THE SUN will be of interest to readers curious about the role of biological, social, economic, political, intellectual, and psychological transformations in life; and about the all-encompassing dynamic life system. Here is what one eminent international expert -- Professor Peter Schuster (President of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, from the University of Vienna) -- has said: "The conventional view in science is often questioned by non-mainstream researchers, and once in a while, it pays to listen ... When I received Graeme Snooks' review presenting his view on evolution of the biosphere and human society ... I got the impression that demand-oriented evolutionary dynamics might be a useful view on problems of high complexity." (Editorial for 2008 in COMPLEXITY, Journal of the Santa Fe Institute).

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364

Publisher

Igds Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

0980839432

ISBN 13

9780980839432

The Global Crisis Makers

An End to Progress and Liberty?

By: Graeme Donald Snooks

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The Global Crisis Makers

An End to Progress and Liberty?

By: Graeme Donald Snooks

The author argues that we should not be diverted by the East Asian 'meltdown', which is a predictable outcome of global dynamics. Of real concern, however, is the 'hidden crisis', which has been inadvertently engineered by neoliberal economists who dominate the world's financial institutions. They are the global crisis makers, who have convinced governments to abandon strategic leadership and to impose crippling deflationary policies. By employing the innovative theoretical empirical work published in his recent series of remarkable books, Graeme Snooks shows how this threat to progress and liberty can be overcome.

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Page Count

198

Publisher

Palgrave Macmillan

Published Date

ISBN 10

0312234201

ISBN 13

9780312234201

The Death of Zarathustra

Notes on Truth for the Risk-taker

By: Graeme Donald Snooks

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The Death of Zarathustra

Notes on Truth for the Risk-taker

By: Graeme Donald Snooks

This book explores truth in human society - its nature, role, and future. But it does so in an unorthodox way, by employing a fictional framework. Truth conveyed within a lie. It is an exploration that ranges from Greek rationalism (truth told to outsiders and lies to insiders) in the West and Zoroastrianism (Truth versus the Lie) in the East, to the pragmatism of today, and beyond. It is the year 2044 in a world reeling from the devastating effects of a radical experiment by governments to impose a draconian global climate-mitigation program. After decades of oppression, right-wing forces in Metropolis, the world's leading society, have thrown off these shackles, taken political control, invaded the devastated oil-rich countries, and are advancing on China after a limited nuclear exchange. In the turmoil, a determined scholar is editing the unpublished essays of an obscure thinker, active between the 1960s and 2010s, who had predicted these events using his revolutionary general dynamic theory of life. A voice from the underground that had been ignored in its own time. The edited essays focus on the role played by truth in the dealings of the state, the people, the intellectuals, the businesspeople, and the clergy of Metropolis in the early years of the twenty-first century. A role that led to the chaos of 2044. Arguing from the grave, our thinker shows there is no general "will to truth," even among philosophers; there is no societal demand for truth in the struggle to survive and prosper; and that truth-seeking is the most extreme of extreme sports - a form of self-vivisection - pursued by deviants who often end mentally disturbed or taking their own lives.

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Page Count

204

Publisher

Igds Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

0980839424

ISBN 13

9780980839425

The Laws of History

By: Graeme Snooks

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The Laws of History

By: Graeme Snooks

This is an original and controversial reflection on the course of human history and a remarkable attempt to develop a scientific model of laws for the social sciences. It: * considers the nature of laws and the reasons we might expect to find them in history * employs an underlying framework concerning societal dynamics, historical change, and institutional change, which are in fact the laws of history. This volume consolidates the author's previous research in The Dynamic Society and The Ephemeral Civilization.

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Page Count

289

Publisher

Routledge

Published Date

ISBN 10

1134656211

ISBN 13

9781134656219

The Collapse of Darwinism, Or, The Rise of a Realist Theory of Life

By: Graeme Donald Snooks

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The Collapse of Darwinism, Or, The Rise of a Realist Theory of Life

By: Graeme Donald Snooks

In this provocative work, noted social and economic theorist Graeme D. Snooks exposes fatal flaws in the foundations of the Darwinian theory of evolution, which he deems an "artificial algorithm," as well as the neo-Darwinian synthesis adopted by many social scientists. Utilizing the historical method, Snooks develops a remarkable replacement theory of evolution, which he calls the "dynamic-strategy" theory. While the neo-Darwinian position places too great an emphasis on genetic change--giving rise to untenable but popular concepts such as the "selfish gene"--and fails to explain the fluctuating fortunes of life's most successful species (mankind), Snooks' framework starts by systematically observing the broad patterns of life and human society. The resultant realist theory of life posits life as a strategic pursuit (rather than a game of chance) in which organisms adopt dynamic strategies (only one of which is genetic change) to survive and prosper. Organisms' and species' progress is achieved through "strategic selection"--a concept that displaces the "divine selection" of creationists and the "natural selection" of Darwinists. This new theory reveals the organism as empowered, rather than as the plaything of gods, genes, or blind chance; and it provides a new basis for humanism.

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Page Count

366

Publisher

Lexington Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

0739106139

ISBN 13

9780739106136

Global Transition

A General Theory of Economic Development

By: Graeme Donald Snooks

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Global Transition

A General Theory of Economic Development

By: Graeme Donald Snooks

Global Transition is an innovative study that analyses the problems and prospects of the Third World by building on the theoretical contribution - the dynamic-strategy model - made in the author's acclaimed Longrun Dynamics . It formulates a general economic and political theory he calls the global strategic transition (GST) model. The central feature of this model is the global strategic demand-response mechanism involving an interaction between the world's expanding strategic core and its fringe, which is facilitated through strategic inflation. This model also provides the basis for a new policy approach to economic development.

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Page Count

400

Publisher

Springer

Published Date

ISBN 10

033398479X

ISBN 13

9780333984796

The Ephemeral Civilization

Exploding the Myth of Social Evolution

By: Graeme Snooks

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The Ephemeral Civilization

Exploding the Myth of Social Evolution

By: Graeme Snooks

The Ephemeral Civilization is an astonishing intellectual feat in which Graeme Snooks develops an original and ground-breaking analysis of changing sociopolitical forms over the past 3,000 years. Snooks challenges the prevailing theories of social evolutionism with an innovative approach which also looks ahead to the twenty-first century. The Ephemeral Civilization builds on the model of dynamic strategy outlined in the author's highly acclaimed companion volume, The Dynamic Society. The Ephemeral Society is divided into three parts - theory, history and future.

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Page Count

384

Publisher

Routledge

Published Date

ISBN 10

1134700032

ISBN 13

9781134700035

The Dynamic Society

The Sources of Global Change

By: Graeme Snooks

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The Dynamic Society

The Sources of Global Change

By: Graeme Snooks

This book discusses the nature and process of change in human society over the past two million years. The author draws on economic, historical and biological concepts to examine the driving forces of change and looks to likely developments in the future. This analysis produces some very thought-provoking and controversial conclusions.

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Page Count

548

Publisher

Routledge

Published Date

ISBN 10

1134775709

ISBN 13

9781134775705

Domesday Economy

A New Approach to Anglo-Norman History

By: John McDonald,Graeme Donald Snooks

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Domesday Economy

A New Approach to Anglo-Norman History

By: John McDonald,Graeme Donald Snooks

Snooks and McDonald have compiled an unequalled new interpretation of the Domesday Book, the ancient work containing detailed and comprehensive statistics on ownership, income, and resources of almost every manor of Norman England in 1086.

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257

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0198285248

ISBN 13

9780198285243

Portrait of the Family Within the Total Economy

A Study in Longrun Dynamics, Australia 1788-1990

By: Graeme Donald Snooks

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Portrait of the Family Within the Total Economy

A Study in Longrun Dynamics, Australia 1788-1990

By: Graeme Donald Snooks

The household sector is the forgotten economy of the Western world. Yet it is an institution that has always played a central role in the operation of economic systems, and in the way these systems have changed through time. This book, which focuses on the Australian case, looks at the role of the household economy in the process of economic change. It considers the household within the context of the total economy and also identifies and analyses longrun dynamic processes in Western society since the Industrial Revolution. This is the first attempt to analyse the dynamics of the total economy over such a long period of time. Soundly based on new estimates of household and market economic activity for Australia, the book challenges accepted theoretical and empirical notions in this area. Professor Snooks' pioneering book makes an important contribution to economics, economic measurement and economic history.

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Page Count

340

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0521458331

ISBN 13

9780521458337

The Dynamic Society

The Sources of Global Change

By: Graeme Snooks

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The Dynamic Society

The Sources of Global Change

By: Graeme Snooks

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510

Publisher

Routledge

Published Date

ISBN 10

1134775717

ISBN 13

9781134775712

Was the Industrial Revolution Necessary?

By: Graeme Donald Snooks

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Was the Industrial Revolution Necessary?

By: Graeme Donald Snooks

By examining the wider dimensions of the Industrial Revolution, the authors draw conclusions to answer the question of the title.

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171

Publisher

Psychology Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0415108683

ISBN 13

9780415108683

Economics Without Time

A Science Blind to the Forces of Historical Change

By: Graeme Donald Snooks

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Economics Without Time

A Science Blind to the Forces of Historical Change

By: Graeme Donald Snooks

Historical, theoretical, and real time in economics.

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348

Publisher

University of Michigan Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0472104950

ISBN 13

9780472104956

Global Transition

A General Theory of Economic Development

By: Graeme Donald Snooks

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Global Transition

A General Theory of Economic Development

By: Graeme Donald Snooks

Global Transition is an innovative study that analyzes the problems and prospects of the Third World by building on the theoretical contribution--the dynamic-strategy model--made in the author's acclaimed Longrun Dynamics (1998). It formulates a general economic and political theory he calls the Global Strategic Transition (GST) model. The central feature of this model is the global strategic demand-response mechanism involving an interaction between the world's expanding strategic core and its fringe, which is facilitated through strategic inflation. This model also provides the basis for a new policy approach to economic development.

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Page Count

411

Publisher

Palgrave Macmillan

Published Date

ISBN 10

0312223706

ISBN 13

9780312223700

The Coming Eclipse ; Or the Triumph of Climate Mitigation Over Solar Revolution

By: Graeme Donald Snooks

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The Coming Eclipse ; Or the Triumph of Climate Mitigation Over Solar Revolution

By: Graeme Donald Snooks

THE COMING ECLIPSE deals with the most important issue of our era, and deals with it in a unique way. This book is concerned with a critical choice of futures: either the adoption of a comprehensive climate-mitigation program or the emergence of a new technological revolution. As this book succinctly explains, the adoption of one will eclipse the other. A climate mitigation program of the type proposed by the IPCC will require the establishment of an artificial system of prices, which could only be achieved by establishing a command-like economy. Such an economic system would lock us into the old polluting fossil-fuel technological paradigm and thereby delay, even derail, the newly emerging technological revolution - the Solar Revolution - which will be based on radically new methods of energy extraction. By using a realist general dynamic framework, Professor Snooks shows that, by the end of the twenty-first century, the real dynamic costs of the mitigation program proposed by the IPCC will amount to an astronomical 90% of world GDP rather than the 1-2% estimated by climate mitigationists. Owing to their inadequate methodology, orthodox economists have massively, and dangerously, underestimated the real costs of climate mitigation, which would inevitably arise from delaying the imminent technological revolution due to begin in the middle decades of this century. A revolution that will transform our world, just as the Industrial Revolution transformed the commercial world of the eighteenth century. A revolution that, ironically, if not derailed will solve the current problem of climate change. This book is designed to be read in a couple of sittings by busy powerbrokers and businesspeople, as well as the educated public.

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Igds Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

0980839408

ISBN 13

9780980839401

Ultimate Reality and Its Dissidents

A Philosophy of Life

By: Graeme Donald Snooks

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Ultimate Reality and Its Dissidents

A Philosophy of Life

By: Graeme Donald Snooks

This book embodies a search for the ultimate reality in life; that unbearable truth from which we all shelter in the lowlands. Only those who delight in braving the alpine heights will want to read this book, which is about our true selves; about the real nature of good and evil, oppression and liberty, truth and lies; about the relentless reality of the life-system--the "strategic logos"--that enables us to survive and prosper; about the self-serving falseness of our ethical systems; and about the difficult but rewarding path to individual freedom. It is a book that tackles Goethe's sceptical question, "What is man?"; Shakespeare's query of disdain, "What is this quintessence of dust?"; Montaigne's rhetorical demand, "Is it possible to imagine anything as ridiculous as this miserable and wretched creature?"; Nietzsche's statement of veiled contempt, "What is great in man is that he is a bridge and not a goal"; and Thomas Mann's expression of disillusionment, "Is this all there is?." This book constitutes an entirely new approach to the philosophy of life, based as it is on the author's unique general dynamic theory of human society. Graeme Donald Snooks is Executive Director of the institute of Global Dynamic Systems (IGDS) in Canberra. Formerly (1989-2010) he was the Coghlan Professor in the Institute of Advanced Studies at the Australian National University. Dr Snooks has been at the cutting edge of research on social and biological dynamics, and the new realist methodology, for 50 years. He has published 26 books and many articles.

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Page Count

262

Publisher

Igds Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

0980839440

ISBN 13

9780980839449

Dead God Rising

Religion and Science in the Universal Life-system

By: Graeme Donald Snooks

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Dead God Rising

Religion and Science in the Universal Life-system

By: Graeme Donald Snooks

Dead God Rising provides a completely original explanation for the many religions and myths that have arisen in human society. In particular, it exposes the mechanism by which human religion has been transformed over the millennia. To do this, the book focuses on a number of important and representative case studies in early human society (the Neanderthals and Aboriginal Australians), together with those at the core both of the Neolithic (or agricultural) Transformation in the Fertile Crescent from Egypt to Mesopotamia (Egyptian religion, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam) and of the Industrial Transformation in Western Europe and beyond (scientism). This is a study in economic sociology rather than religion more narrowly defined. The book's basic argument is that religion and scientism arose from humanity's attempt to understand and sustain the hidden life-system responsible for human survival and prosperity in a hostile physical and social environment. This hidden life-system, which Professor Snooks calls the "strategic logos," is the book's major discovery. In addition to explaining the central mystery of life, it shows that religion - or "strategic ideology" - is the outcome of a set of rituals by which the Shamans and, later, the priestly philosophers attempted to gain access to, and to influence, the "strategic guardians" - the guardians of the logos - who were misleadingly called "gods" and, eventually, "God." What makes this book distinctive is the unique underlying theory - the "dynamic-strategy" theory - that Professor Snooks has developed to explain the dynamics of human society and of life itself. This realist transdisciplinary theory, which is based on 40 years of systematic observation of the patterns in life in general and human society in particular, extends beyond the work of orthodox sociologists and exposes the flaws in the arguments of the new atheists (such as Richard Dawkins) and Sociobiologists (such as Edward Wilson).

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