The sanctuary of Artemis on the island of Korkyra, modern Corfu, is presented as a case study of the relationship between the changing environment and the monumentalization of Greek sanctuaries through Doric stone architecture. Although the sculptural decoration of the Artemis temple, which is one of the earliest Doric temples known so far, is relatively well preserved, modern scholars disagree on the interpretation of the sculptures. The question of how the representations of Medusa and other mythological figures on the pediments and metopes related to the divinity worshipped in the sanctuary and to the local context are particularly controversial. However, as the chapter argues, the builders of the temple had no interest in highlighting this relationship in the first place. The temple and its sculptural decoration were meant to express Panhellenic values and standards rather than local traditions. Thus, the local elite of Korkyra presented themselves as part of a Panhellenic elite network. At the same time, the elite showed the local population that they were taking care of the religious landscape in an unstable and radically transformative situation.

Chapter 9 considers overpopulation, its impact on the Earth and on the other mega-threats as well as its solutions – global, national, and personal.

The concept of political plasticity leads us to identify areas of human behavior that are highly resistant to change and need special planning in order to bring about reforms, and also areas that have more potential for change and, through their change, will bring about larger transformations in societies. In domains such as ethnicity, leadership, rich–poor divide, and religion, planning for change must be undertaken taking into account, first, the great obstacles to change and, second, the possibility of backward movement away from democracy. But there are other domains where political plasticity is much higher and which can bring about more widespread transformations. The illustrative example of women in education is discussed in this chapter. The rapid progress of women in education throughout much of the world since World War II has been truly astonishing. If managed well, the progress of women in education can lead to progress in other areas, including population control and global warming.

Chapter 7 examines what causes pandemics – and how to avoid the next one.

Life extension consists in slowing, halting, or even reversing human ageing. I will briefly review why many reputable geroscientists believe this is possible. This raises three areas of ethical concern. First, some people argue that extended life is not desirable, and that we are better off without it. I explain why these are mostly bad arguments, and why, for most people, the advantages of extended life will outweigh whatever disadvantages it may have. The second concern is that widespread use of life extension will cause overpopulation. The third concern is that life extension will be so expensive that not everyone will be able to get it, and this is unjust. These are legitimate concerns, but not insurmountable. After reviewing the ethical issues behind these concerns, I argue that we should develop life extension and make it available provided that we take steps to avoid overpopulation and to distribute life extension fairly.

The climate crisis is due to the extraction and burning of fossil fuels, but we are often told it is “really” about something else: economic growth, population growth, nature deprivation, deforestation or lack of investment in new energy systems. The first is based on multiple misunderstandings, makes little quantitative sense and reverses cause and effect; nor is “growth ideology” a significant impediment to climate action. The second is even more quantitatively implausible than the first. The third is contradicted by actual rural-urban political patterns. Faith in forest carbon sequestration has given rise to a large offset industry, but forests can readily become a net source rather than a sink in a warming world. Finally, while investments in energy efficiency and renewable sources are essential, they are not the same as equivalent reductions in fossil fuels in a world of expanding energy use. This is made clear by the experience of Germany, a world leader in green development and also a regional laggard in reducing emissions. There are many other goals to be pursued, but directly suppressing fossil fuel use is the sine qua non of avoiding a climate catastrophe.

Chapter 2 shows how two Elizabethan and Jacobean engagements with problematic multitudes undermined the body politic as a framework for managing multitudes in a context of rapid population growth, economic change and political challenges beyond England. Turning first to growing anxieties about poverty and vagrancy in England, it examines how rogue literature constructed vagrants as a foreign and inherently idle counter-polity, rather than a displaced and degenerated multitude; it then shows how municipal ordinances, surveys and poor laws came to treat the mobile poor as inherently idle of quantification as well as regulation, for whom systematic intervention and routine management was necessary to instill the virtues of industry. Second, it follows late Tudor and early Stuart efforts to undo the degeneration (through mixture with the Irish) of the Old English in Ireland, and to civilize – through projects of plantation, conquest or legal reform – the putatively barbaric Gaelic Irish themselves. In both cases, problematic groups were no longer seen as displaced organs of a body politic but rather as populations that must be made governable in the first instance through policy.

Chapter 7 presents a description of daily prison life in order to evaluate prison environments and rehabilitation programs. Based on inmates’ self-reports from surveys, we analyze the depth and impact of overcrowding, the supply of basic services (food and health), rehabilitation and training programs (schooling and work inside prisons), health services, social life, and criminal networks. We show that the supply of goods and services in most prisons is deficient and creates profit opportunities for criminal networks; that most rehabilitation programs fail; and that preparations for reentry are very poor, contributing to high rates of recidivism.