Kicking off the third edition of our reading group with Social.coop. Let’s read a book together over 3-4 sessions this fall 
!
Lifehouse: Taking Care of Ourselves in a World on Fire (2024) Adam Greenfield
Creating a hold for the first one: [HOLD] CoSocial Reading Group: Intros and Lifehouse plan · Luma and asked folks about availability here: CoSocial Community Cooperative: "It looks like Lifehouse is our pick! We have fou…" - CoSocial
If there is any interest in inviting the author for one of these sessions, I’m connected to him on social media and happy to pass on an invite.
Hi all, looking forward to kicking this off! Even if you haven’t read the book I’d encourage you to attend!
Here are some discussion questions and a pad to take notes:
(I got a little blurby, we don’t have to follow these, just some potential discussion starters!)
Introduction
In the intro the author sets up a challenge as one where there is a disconnect between the scale of crises we face (Climate Change most notably) and our individual power or ability to act. Then talks about what get presented as the dominant models of individual and collective action (electoral politics, consumer action, demonstrations, individual moral choices). Do you agree or disagree with this? What are your thoughts or experiences with popular models of action?
The book opens with the example of Occupy Sandy, a mutual aid project after Superstorm Sandy hit New York as an example of “localized self-action”:
Chapter 1 - The Long Crisis
Throughout the chapter the author argues that “the society we live in on the edge of a catastrophic transition to a new order of being catalyzed by widespread economic systemic breakdown,” and that there is a difference between understanding intellectually and accepting emotionally.
A big focus for the author is on the impact of heat on us as individuals (on our bodies) and on our communities, on our food systems, on our landscapes. Is that how you experience the already occurring impacts of the climate crisis? Are there others?
In the latter portion of the chapter the conversation turns to the role of the state in a “long emergency” as well as the outsize role of hyperscalers cloud computing infrastructures.
He uses the concept of “Organized Abandonment” from Harvey and RWG to talk about the conscious disinvestment in infrastructure that has already happened, but could continue in more stark terms, to think about the question: Is the state likely to respond to “Big Heat” (aka the challenges of this moment)?
At the end of the chapter he brings up what may be responses to confronting the sober facts of where we are at in addressing global warming: doomerism, despair, or a “return” to rugged individualism… It is clear that is not what he wants most people to experience but he doesn’t quite get to describing the alternatives.