Earth community, green women, and people-centered altruistic economies, politics and cultures: A book summary and review of ‘The Great Turning from Empire to Earth Community’ (2006)

Abstract

David Korten, in his book ‘The Great Turning from Empire to Community’ (2006), presents a well-researched summary of human socio-cultural history over the past 10,000 or so years. Before 3000 BC, he argues, human society was organized on the basis of relationships in a form of social organization he terms Earth Community. Human needs and values were paramount; cooperation was the basic principal of interaction; the earth was respected, and the needs the individual were humanely balanced with the needs of the group. Before Empire, spiritually, Gods were generally female, representing the givers of life and sustenance. In human society, women enjoyed a status of full participation, with a voice in all family and village affairs. However, in different periods of empire, women’s egalitarian status transformed and was lost to patriarchal male domination. To eradicate injustice, inequality and exploitation from society, it is important to revive the earth community in order to restore justice and equality in the contemporary society.