The Novel "Cloud Atlas," A story of Human undoing

David Mitchell has written a brilliantly prophetic and insightful novel about how we human beings, in our search for power, wealth and the good life, coupled with our capacity to morally justify our methods as well as deny the destructive consequences of satisfying unquenchable hungers brings about the destruction of civilization and the planet upon which we all live. I will apply my own psychological insights to various aspects of Mitchell's story and discuss some of the reasons why our hungers for power and material wealth can rarely ever be satisfied, the roles played by shame and guilt in driving our most destructive acts as well as our powerful needs to deny the moral implications of what we are now doing to undo our society and selves. I will discuss, along with Mitchell, the toxic combination of late stage Capitalism and fanatical religion driving us blindly along the path to virtual extinction. I will suggest a somewhat different ending to Mitchell's pitiless story and while I have little faith in my own story I feel it necessary to impart some hope to our collective future.