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Other Worlds Were Possible

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February 10, 2023  |  245 views

Other Worlds Were Possible (book) by Joss Sheldon. Book coverTHE STATUS QUO IS JUST A PASSING PHASE!

Sunny and his kinfolk were content with their way of life. During the dry season, their clan lived alone. They hunted whenever they chose, gathered an array of plants, told stories, and took part in debates. In the rainy season, they united with the rest of their tribe. They formed a temporary city, feasted, held dances and played games.

They could have lived like this forever. But a strange and foreign people had ideas of their own...

Appearing out of nowhere, these aliens looked completely different. They smelled different. They even dressed differently. And they had the most peculiar habits.

These people did not live with the earth. They exploited the earth, imposing monocultures and intensive farming. They were not content with their lot. They were possessed by an insatiable desire to consume. And they had no sense of freedom. They were beholden to a never-ending list of outlandish concepts; things such as “Hierarchy”, “Patriarchy”, “Monarchy”, “Monogamy”, “God”, “Punishments”, “Ownership”, “Inequality”, “Money”, “Work” and “Tax”.

Sunny and his kinfolk faced the toughest decision in their history…

They could wage war on these imposters. But their enemies were strong. They had killed hundreds-of-thousands of indigenous people.

They could flee. But these imperialists would surely follow. They would push them into the sea, the mountains or the desert.

Their clan needed another solution. But what could it be? Could they negotiate with this violent foe? Could they form a pact? Could they create a kind of alliance?

Sunny had no idea. But he was compelled by a duty to find out. This was his time. And he was willing to risk his life, to save the people he loved…

THIS IS NOT THE END OF HISTORY. OTHER WORLDS WERE POSSIBLE...

Author's Notes

It’s about a clan of hunter-gatherers, members of a democratic tribe, whose lives are turned upside-down by imperialists; foreigners who wish to impose outlandish concepts such as “Hierarchy”, “Patriarchy”, “Monarchy”, “Monogamy”, “God”, “Punishments”, “Ownership”, “Inequality”, “Money”, “Work” and “Tax”.

It’s a reminder that most things we take for granted today, have only dominated the globe for two or three hundred years. We lived in very different societies, for the vast majority of human history. We can structure our societies and economies in very different ways in the future. As long as we have an open and imaginative mind, and so long as we remember that “Other Worlds Were Possible”…

About Joss Sheldon

Joss Sheldon's picture
GB United Kingdom

Joss Sheldon is a scruffy nomad, unchained free-thinker, and post-modernist radical. Born in 1982, he was brought up in one of the anonymous suburbs which wrap themselves around London's beating heart. Then he escaped! With a degree from the London School of Economics to his name, Sheldon had spells selling falafel at music festivals, being a ski-bum, and failing to turn the English...

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