• The Great Turning

  • From Empire to Earth Community
  • By: David C. Korten
  • Narrated by: Sandra Swafford
  • Length: 15 hrs and 40 mins
  • 3.7 out of 5 stars (65 ratings)

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The Great Turning  By  cover art

The Great Turning

By: David C. Korten
Narrated by: Sandra Swafford
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Publisher's summary

In his classic international best seller, When Corporations Rule the World, David Korten exposed the destructive and oppressive nature of the global corporate economy and helped spark a global resistance movement. Now, he shows that the problem runs deeper than corporate domination with far greater consequences.

Korten argues that global corporate consolidation of power is but one manifestation of what he calls "Empire", the organization of society by hierarchies of dominance that have held sway for the past 5,000 years. Empire has always resulted in misery for the many and fortune for the few. Now it threatens the very future of humanity.

The Great Turning traces the ancient roots of Empire and charts its long evolution from monarchies to the transnational institutions of the global economy. Empire is not inevitable, not the natural order of things, Korten argues. He draws on evidence from sources as varied as evolutionary theory, developmental psychology, and religious teachings to make the case that "Earth Community", a life-centered, egalitarian, sustainable way of ordering human society based on democratic principles of partnership, is indeed possible. He details a practical strategy for advancing a turning toward a future of as-yet-unrealized human potential.

©2006 People-Centered Development Forum (P)2006 Polity Audio LLC

What listeners say about The Great Turning

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Some fascinating ideas

If I'd read user reviews prior to buying this audiobook, I wouldn't have bought it, and would have missed some very thought-provoking ideas, particularly in Korten's take on American history. He casts the whole founding of the United States in the light of his central thesis, that empire is inimical to humanity. He lays out some very good arguments against starry-eyed patriotism about Liberty and Justice For All when considering the foundations of the nation. Fascinating and perspective-altering.

I'd be remiss, however, if I didn't warn other audiobook listeners (of any political persuasion) that this is a very poorly narrated piece with mediocre production value at best. The reader, I'm sorry to say, sounds like a 2nd-grade teacher didactically o-ver-pro-nouncing every word--and with a slight lisp, no less, and as a result, this book was very difficult for me to listen to.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

unlistenable

The narrator does a horrible job. The book may be good but the audiobook is unlistenable. unimpressive at best.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Wakeup call

... at least that what this book was for me. While I can partially agree with other reviewers that Korten's attempt to (re-)tell the stories needed for the other view on the world which he calls Earth Community (as opposed to the prevailing view he calls Empire) feels a bit immature, it is very much appreciated and needed. While clearly inspired by spiritual movements, the author maintains a scientific and rational approach, another aspect of this book I admire greatly. This book was the most inspiring book I have read in many years, and I read a lot. There is already a lot going on in the world to work on something like a Great Turning (towards Earth Community) and this book deserves a serious place as an inspiration from one of our elders in this work.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • hh
  • 09-16-07

ahead of its time?

Some writers are so far ahead of their time that they fail to get the recognition they deserve. I'm not sure that is the case here. I think Korten is perfectly synched with "time." It's everybody else who is so far behind the times that creates the mismatch. Korten is presenting "cooperation" as a life affirming essential in an age when dog eat dog is still the mantra. We have no trouble grasping the concept of cooperation when it's abstract, cartoonish and linked to a story long ago and far away (the classic childhood tale of two men with a pot of food and only long handled spoons), but in the here and now it all becomes Greek (the stock market goes up when employment goes down, schools that can't afford a good lit department invest heavily in a new football stadium, etc.) Sadly, I think things will have to get much worse before most readers truly open up to Korten's message. Let's just hope it isn't too late by then.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • RC
  • 12-15-06

Uninteresting for left or right

After many years of reading audiobooks, this is one of the few that I could get two-thirds of the way through and still be unable to finish. Lefties will find this book to have a far-end, tree-hugging flavor, while righties will see little or no attempt to meet halfway or uncourage a shift in perspective. The author assumes the audience already agrees, and is unconvincing to anyone the least bit skeptical.

The author (male) mainly writes in the first-person, which becomes confusing when the reader (female) talks about his wife and other personal facts. The author also seems to believe that, like him, everyone in America's children attend schools abroad and begin globetrotting before twenty.

Some good ideas, but the obtuse lack of insight into what the real world is actually like makes this book a slow, unfulfilling listen.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Narrator Ruins the Book

This great book needs to be recorded again with a different reader. It’s unfortunate that such an important book has been ruined by terrible narration.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I Can't Believe What I Heard!

This book had the potential to be a great AWAKENING... Unfortunately... and I've never said this before... the narrator was horrible... beyond bad... I could not listen to this book... even though I wanted desperately to hear the information within... I believe in the great turning... I believe in the cycle of life and the evolutionary growth of human consciousnesses... and that one day their will be a falling away from greed... and the lust for power and control... That said... THE NARRATOR RUINED THIS AUDIO BOOK!... END OF STORY... BUY THE BOOK INSTEAD!...

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Enlightening for me but Quite Weak overall...

This book was enlightening to me. By the end it became clear that the movement the book describes is not really a political, philosophical, or economics movement, but instead is a religious movement. Most of the book is a recapitulation of history to support the idea that the pre-historic peoples, with spiritual consciousnesses, were infected by the virus of the empire-consciousness. Basically anyone who disagrees are to be dismissed (and pitied) as being stuck in the low-level consciousness of empire – while the author has attained the much higher spiritual consciousness. Of course, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam have all been infected by the empire virus – so the spiritualism discussed is kind of mother goddess, kind of pantheism focused. The author admits that the actual facts of history are really unimportant, what is important is to create stories that communicate what the spiritually conscious have learned. Although I agree with many of the goals of the author, I did not find the historical retelling compelling, and I have to agree with the author that the stories for earth community need some work.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

great ideas, a bit plodding

the book: a useful metaphor that's a bit over-applied at times. it comes to feel a little less rich, which is sad because it detracts from it's power.
the reader is also a bit dry, but wonderfully clear and easy to understand. since the topic gets plodding, I wish the reader were a little more folksy and engaging.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

The voice

This is a really long book to listen to such an affected voice for the duration. Lots of great info and perspective. Loved many parts of it. Some of it was really repetitive, and that voice with it's soft "t"s drove me nuts.

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