After the Apocalypse

While everyone is hypnotized by the dystopian siren song of Covid-19, the main eschatological threats to the future of humanity and the planet haven't disappeared. Climate crisis, nuclear age and now pandemics – these have become our 'new normal' and we must prepare ourselves for what comes after. In this post-apocalyptic rollercoaster ride through the world after the Apocalypse, philosopher Srećko Horvat invites us to explore the Apocalypse understood as 'revelation' (not the 'end' itself) and argues that the only way to prevent the end - namely, extinction - is to engage in a close reading of various interconnected threats like climate crisis, nuclear age and the ongoing pandemic. Drawing on the work of the neglected philosopher Günther Anders, this book outlines a philosophical approach to deal with what Horvat, borrowing a term from climate science and giving it a theological twist, calls 'eschatological tipping points'. It is no longer just the nuclear age or climate crisis, it is the collision of the nuclear age and climate crisis conjoined with various other major threats (pandemics, but also the viruses of capitalism and fascism). By investigating the future of places such as Chernobyl, the Mediterranean and Marshall Islands, including many places that were affected by Covid-19, the 'revelation' according to Horvat appears simple and unprecedented: the alternative is no longer socialism or barbarism, our only choice today is a radical re-invention of the world or mass extinction. After the Apocalypse is an urgent call not only to mourn tomorrow's dead today but to struggle for our future while we can.