Catastrophism explores the politics of apocalypse-on the left and right, in the environmental movement-and examines why the lens of catastrophe can distort the understanding of the dynamics at the heart of disasters-and fatally impedes the ability to transform the world. Lilley, McNally, Yuen and Davis probe the reasons why catastrophic thinking is so prevalent, and challenge the belief that it is only out of the ashes that a better society may be born.