Numb: The Politics of Overwhelm

By: Abley, Mark

We are exhausted. We are overwhelmed. Worse, we are numb. No matter what screen you're getting your news and information from, the barrage is constant, horrific and always urgent: Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, Congo, climate change, ecological devastation, economic collapse...and of course Donald Trump and all he represents. Authoritarian leaders and genocidal regimes have always found numbness a desirable goal, as it narrows the possibilities for revolt. Shocked and awed into submission, we are at the mercy of tyrants, like captive animals in a zoo. What we see in zoo animals today may be a ghostly image of ourselves. In this lucid, trenchant book, Mark Abley explores the idea of numbness in today's political context.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1771864303
• ISBN13: 9781771864305
• Release Date: June 2026
• Publisher: Baraka Books
• Length: 100 Pages
• Weight: 0.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 4.3" x 6.8"