Apocalypse Next : The Economics of Global Catastrophic Risks

The Covid-19 pandemic was, and remains, a global disaster – claiming countless lives and wreaking economic havoc that still reverberates today. But it could have been worse. Much worse. Author Stephen Davies contends the planet ‘dodged a bullet’ this time around. But he warns this was no black swan event: The conflicts in the Ukraine and the Middle East already threaten global stability. And the next existential threat to mankind could happen much sooner than we think – with the chances of it happening increasing exponentially. Here he analyses the potential catastrophes – from nuclear war and climate change to further pandemics, the misuse of Artificial Intelligence and more – that could jeopardise our planet and its people. In this fascinating and at times frightening work, he examines how we assess these risks – and what we can do about them. But Davies is no Jeremiah. He firmly believes the ingenuity, imagination and innovation of millions of people around the world will ultimately secure mankind’s continued existence.

Stephen Davies is Senior Education Fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs. From 1979 to 2009 he was Senior Lecturer in the Department of History and Economic History at Manchester Metropolitan University. He has also been a Visiting Scholar at the Social Philosophy and Policy Center at Bowling Green State University, Ohio, and a Program Officer for the Institute for Humane Studies in Arlington, Virginia. His many publications include Empiricism and History (Palgrave Macmillan, 2003) and The Wealth Explosion: The Nature and Origins of Modernity (Edward Everett Root, 2019).