ABSTRACT
The First and Second World Wars are not only turning points in understanding man’s use of technology in the pursuit of inhumanity to man, but also in understanding the idea of shared space and our place in it. Margaret Atwood, the award-winning Canadian novelist, says that ‘Rachel Carson is a saint’ because all Carson called for was sound science and the precautionary principle and she denied those who wanted to promote social Darwinism. Fritjof Capra trained in theoretical high-energy physics. Turning Point is subtitled Science, Society and the Rising Culture and argues for a holistic, systems-based approach to understanding life which mixes science and metascience. In 2006 the Geological Society awarded James Lovelock the Wollaston Medal, which had previously been won by Darwin. There is a strong link between Darwin, Lovelock and Adam Smith, whose economics are often misguidedly used as the theoretical basis for neoliberal economic theory.
