Next To Us, The Deluge
Neben Uns die Sintflut

Lessenich - cover
Hanser Berlin
September 2016 / 224pp
Non-Fiction
  • English-language rights sold

The Goethe-Institut supported the English translation of this book.

Get information on the English version here (UK).

review

Après moi la deluge? Stephan Lessenich disagrees. The metaphorical flood is already here, but the West is choosing to ignore it. Seen from a global perspective, we reside on an island of wealth and affluence, but this island is built on the exploitation of others. Lessenich calls this phenomenon ‘externalisation society’.

The prosperity of the few invariably causes problems to the many. The change in  agriculture due to increased demand for soy, and the resulting impact on the environment and the livelihoods of locals, is one of many striking examples. In his far-reaching critique, Lessenich questions the narrative of economic growth, waste tourism and global mobility, and offers convincing evidence that this ongoing externalisation is not sustainable. The mass displacement of people as a result of ecological problems is just one way in which the West feels the impact of both rising inequality and increased connectedness.

Stephan Lessenich, a professor of sociology at Munich University, has published widely on the subject of capitalism. Aimed at a general audience, but grounded in a solid theoretical basis, Next To Us, The Deluge is a unique work in the tradition of thinkers such as Naomi Klein or Thomas Piketty.

about the author

rights information

Carl Hanser Verlag

Kolbergerstrasse 22, 81679 Munich, Germany

Contact: Friederike Barakat

Tel: +49 89 99830 509

Email: friederike.barakat@hanser.de

www.hanser-literaturverlage.de

 

Carl Hanser Verlag was established by its eponymous owner in 1928 in Munich, and its founder’s interests in both literature and science have been maintained to the present day. The firm publishes fiction and non-fiction for both adults and children. Its authors include Italo  Calvino, Umberto Eco, Jostein Gaarder, Lars Gustafsson, Milan Kundera, Harry Mulisch,  Philip Roth, Susan Sontag, Botho Strauß, Raoul Schrott, Rafik Schami, Alfred Brendel, Elke Heidenreich and ten Nobel prizewinners, among them Elias Canetti, whose works have been translated into more than thirty different languages.

translation assistance

The Goethe-Institut supported the English translation of this book.

Get information on the English version here (UK).

share this recommendation

Share this on twitter, facebook or via mail.

All recommendations from Autumn 2016