Chapter 17

What Sumner does not realize is the fact that Cataclysim can also be derived from Gradualism. The act of chopping down the last tree is a Cataclysim in its own right because it is the singular event that caused the death of several thousand. To that point, we as a society cannot hope or even try to turn aside from this Gradualism. As the word implies, society as a whole is gradually falling apart .. for several decades. People are smart and smart people have a voice in society and yet society is still falling apart. It's just one of those spring like actions that the universe is built on (Big Bang/Big Crunch). Our civilization will eventually end and most of our population will die off .... but some will survive, just like they did on that island and regrow a newer (smarter as a whole instead of having only a few smart individuals) civilization.