How Soon Is Now

December 12, 2016
In this radical call to consciousness, Pinchbeck (2012: The Return of Quezalcoatl) claims that Western culture is rushing towards global catastrophe and human extinction because we no longer have the experience of rites of passage. He lays out in detail how our quest to continuously acquire has led to the dire realities of climate change, and asserts that rapid, fundamental change to human culture is not only possible but essential. While acknowledging the benefits of computer technology and reduction of environmental impact, he also makes reference to various futurists, philosophers, and his own experience with psychedelic drugs, arguing that we need a deeper change to our nature that honors Eastern wisdom, local production, the reality of occult forces, and radical democracy. At times, Pinchbeck’s urgency devolves into rambling, and he often concludes with prophetic and universal assertions plucked from his very particular experiences. A brief conclusion suggests some concrete actions, but the whole work remains utopian and frustratingly vague on how to implement the leaps he calls for. Though the book succeeds in presenting the imperiled state of humankind, Pinchbeck’s proposed future collapses to incoherence amid his alarming conviction of his own correctness. Agent: Bill Gladstone, Waterside Productions.