Goliath’s Curse

An epic analysis of 5,000 years of civilisation … The lessons he has drawn are often striking: people are fundamentally egalitarian but are led to collapses by enriched, status-obsessed elites, while past collapses often improved the lives of ordinary citizens … scholarly, but the straight-talking Australian can also be direct – Damian Carrington * Guardian *An excellent survey of human history through the collapses of Goliath-like kings, states and empires … Kemp sees a solution in the flashing warning lights; the collective means to rise up and slay the Goliaths of climate change, big tech and authoritarianism through true, progressive democracy – Ben East * Observer *A brilliant, utterly convincing account of the evolution of human society and why we are probably reaching humanity’s end days – Henry Marsh, author of DO NO HARMA comprehensive overview of societal collapse, based on the analysis of dozens of cases spanning thousands of years from the Paleolithic to today. Highly recommended – Peter Turchin, author of END TIMESAbsolutely essential reading for understanding why past civilisations collapsed, and how to protect our own from the same fate – Lewis Dartnell, author of THE KNOWLEDGE: How to Rebuild Our World After An ApocalypseLearned, provocative and deeply unsettling … exceptionally powerful, undeniably impressive – Andrew Lynch * Irish Times *A deeply sobering and strangely inspiring history of how societies collapse - and how we can still save ours. Read it now, or your descendants will find it in the ruins – Johann Hari, author of STOLEN FOCUSExceptional … This is not a book for the anxious. It tells of the collapse of empires and the potential for the implosion of human society. In his marshalling of existential risks the author Luke Kemp deploys apocalyptic prose – Mark Urban * Sunday Times *Erudite, detailed and urgent. A masterpiece of data-driven collapsology – Paul Cooper, author of FALL OF CIVILIZATIONSIn this wide-ranging book Luke Kemp presents a fascinating multi-millennial panorama of how societies have emerged, flourished, but eventually collapsed. He then addresses the lessons this historical record offers for safeguarding humanity’s future, in an era when unprecedented global connectedness and technological advance could engulf our entire civilisation in a terminal catastrophe – Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal, founder of CSER, and author of Our Final CenturyLuke Kemp is a writer and thinker of great talent and probity, and Goliath’s Curse is an important, clarifying, and most of all timely contribution to our age of anxiety – Gideon Lewis-Kraus, staff writer at the New YorkerWith a breathtaking sweep of history, Luke Kemp decodes the operating system of power and its recurring fatal error: the belief that dominance equals resilience. Goliath’s Curse reveals how, from the first empires to our digital age, the concentration of power has always been a precursor to collapse. By showing that our most enduring social structures are built not on command, but on collaboration, Kemp offers a profound argument for the power of plurality. An essential read for anyone building the more open, fair, and anti-fragile world we urgently need – Audrey Tang, Taiwan’s Cyber Ambassador and founding Minister of Digital AffairsA page-turning masterpiece and a necessary antidote to our age of crisis. If you like Jared Diamond you’ll love Goliath’s Curse. Compelling and profound – Roman Krznaric, author of THE GOOD ANCESTORAn invigorating look at big picture history across continents and millennia, and a survival manual to boot * Kirkus Reviews *A brilliant and unnerving debut from economist and geographer Kemp … a sweeping and dire vision of a world on the brink * Publishers Weekly *A great book. The history and plausible futures of collapse are set forth with incredible clarity and rigour. The worst outcome is - we hope - probably preventable if we are perceptive enough as a species, and plan enough to persevere against the stupidity and arrogance of the plutocrats in our midst – Danny Dorling, author of THE NEXT CRISISThis is the book on societal collapse that I had always hoped someone would write. It was worth the wait! – Walter Scheidel, author of The Great LevelerA fascinating intellectual journey … This is a book that should be read—and a message that should be heeded—by anyone interested in achieving lasting human prosperity while preserving our planet – Professor Jim Bacchus, former Congressman, founding judge of the World Trade Organization (WTO), and author of Democracy for a Sustainable WorldLuke Kemp shows that inequality breeds instability and true resilience lies in the democratisation of power. Important reading for anyone committed to a future beyond empire – Jason Hickel, author of Less is More and The DivideGoliath’s Curse is both a sweeping history and a forensic diagnosis of the systems that rule us and how they fall apart. This isn’t just about the past; it’s about the trajectory we’re on now. This book offers the clarity we desperately need in an overloaded, accelerating world – Nate Hagens, host of the Great SimplificationRenowned existential risk specialist Luke Kemp looks both back into history and forward into the future, spelling out the dangers that we currently face and suggesting ways in which we might avoid the pitfalls leading to collapse, before our luck runs out. This is a brilliant and insightful book, guaranteed to keep you thinking during the day and wide awake with worry during the night – Eric Cline, author of 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization CollapsedAnyone who doubts the importance of this conversation hasn’t been paying attention - the spectacle of the world’s richest man seizing chaotic control of the world’s most powerful nation underscores Luke Kemp’s points about the corrosive effects of grotesque inequity. It’s clearly past time that we figured out how to build down the scale of our societies, in interesting but urgent ways – Bill McKibben, author Here Comes The Sun: A Last Chance for the Climate, a Fresh Start for Our CivilizationA profound and mind-expanding book that challenges the existing narratives of societal collapse. Through a long-term lens, Kemp asks us to reconsider histories we thought we knew, a present we take for granted, and future perils we have yet to meet. This is a chillingly enlightening read, which will reorient your understanding of the world and how it came to be – Richard Fisher, author of The Long View

Luke Kemp is a research associate at the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk at the University of Cambridge. He has a background in human geography, international relations and economics, all of which he tutored or lectured in at the Australian National University (ANU). His research has been covered by media outlets such as the New York Times, the BBC and the New Yorker.