Sign-In
Cart
The Age of Pretend Stability: Why Everything Feels Fine Until It Isn't
Paperback
Please select the version of book you would like to purchase.
ISBN13: 9798245339177
Publisher: Independently Published
Published: Jan 23 2026
Pages: 256
Weight: 0.76
Height: 0.54 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
Publisher: Independently Published
Published: Jan 23 2026
Pages: 256
Weight: 0.76
Height: 0.54 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
The Age of Pretend Stability
Why Everything Feels Fine Until It Isn't
Everything appears normal. Markets hum, governments announce success, and life goes on as usual. Yet beneath the surface, fragility is accumulating-slowly, silently, and invisibly. From the grandeur of Rome to post-war America, from the British Empire to the modern global economy, history shows the same pattern: societies rarely collapse from sudden shocks. They crumble because they mistake appearances for reality.
Why Everything Feels Fine Until It Isn't
Everything appears normal. Markets hum, governments announce success, and life goes on as usual. Yet beneath the surface, fragility is accumulating-slowly, silently, and invisibly. From the grandeur of Rome to post-war America, from the British Empire to the modern global economy, history shows the same pattern: societies rarely collapse from sudden shocks. They crumble because they mistake appearances for reality.
In The Age of Pretend Stability, bestselling historian and systems analyst Roger Smith reveals how nations, institutions, and even individuals convince themselves that stability is permanent. Through twenty-five meticulously researched chapters, the book explores how debt, bureaucracy, leadership, and social trust create illusions of strength, why the middle class and everyday systems are often the first to bear the cost, and how personal agency and small-scale structures can provide real resilience when larger systems falter.
This is not a prediction-it is a guide. By naming the illusions that mask fragility, understanding the forces that hollow out systems from within, and learning how adaptation and reform work in practice, readers gain the tools to navigate uncertainty without panic, maintain stability in their own lives, and contribute to societies capable of renewal.
Illusions can be comforting-but only truth allows us to act. The Age of Pretend Stability shows how to see clearly, think strategically, and build strength that endures long after the façade of normalcy fades.
This is not a prediction-it is a guide. By naming the illusions that mask fragility, understanding the forces that hollow out systems from within, and learning how adaptation and reform work in practice, readers gain the tools to navigate uncertainty without panic, maintain stability in their own lives, and contribute to societies capable of renewal.
Illusions can be comforting-but only truth allows us to act. The Age of Pretend Stability shows how to see clearly, think strategically, and build strength that endures long after the façade of normalcy fades.
Also from
Design, Rsl
The Irish American Journey: The Story of Ireland, Famine, and Migration to America
Smith, Roger S.
Paperback
$19.19
The Vietnamese Journey to America: How Vietnamese Refugees Built New Lives in the United States
Smith, Roger S.
Paperback
$19.19
The Quiet Collapse of the Middle Class: How Inflation, Education, and Policy Broke the Promise
Smith, Roger S.
Paperback
$19.19
A Generation Stuck in Place: How Millennials Can Reclaim Control, Purpose, and Momentum
Smith, Roger S.
Paperback
$19.19
Boundaries Without Guilt: How to Stop Over giving, Say No with Confidence, and Take Your Life Back
Smith, Roger S.
Paperback
$19.19
Modern Spirituality: Finding Meaning, Purpose, and Inner Peace Without Religion
Smith, Roger S.
Paperback
$19.19
At-Home Nail Tech Setup Guide: A Step-by-Step Guide to Starting Your Nail Business from Home the Right Way
Smith, Roger S.
Paperback
$19.19
Adults Dealing with Parents: Break Free from Guilt, Pressure, and Family Expectations
Smith, Roger S.
Paperback
$19.19
The Nail Tech Business Blueprint: Turn Your Nail Skills into Consistent Income
Smith, Roger S.
Paperback
$19.19
Zoysia Grass Biology and Management: A Scientific Approach to Establishing, Protecting, and Sustaining Zoysia japonica
Smith, Roger S.
Paperback
$29.39
Advanced Nail Art & Pricing Guide: A Complete Guide to Nail Art Pricing, Design Trends, and Client Demand
Smith, Roger S.
Paperback
$19.19
Northern Lawn Grasses: The Homeowner's Guide to Choosing, Planting, Growing, and Maintaining Beautiful Northern Lawns
Smith, Roger S.
Paperback
$21.59
Maple Tree Biology and Management: A Scientific Approach to Establishing, Protecting, and Sustaining Acer
Smith, Roger S.
Paperback
$29.99
Redbud Tree Biology and Management: A Scientific Approach to Establishing, Protecting, and Sustaining Cercis
Smith, Roger S.
Paperback
$28.79
The Psychology of Nail Clients: Turn Client Behavior Into Bigger Tips, Repeat Bookings, and a Fully Booked Schedule
Smith, Roger S.
Paperback
$19.19
Also in
General Political Science
Solidarity: The Past, Present, and Future of a World-Changing Idea
Hunt-Hendrix, Leah
Taylor, Astra
Hardcover
$14.99
Capitalism and the Camera: Essays on Photography and Extraction
James, Daniel
Coleman, Kevin
Paperback
$28.45
The Craftivist Collective Handbook: Projects, Stories and Methods for Your Gentle Protests
Corbett, Sarah P.
Hardcover
$19.99
Guerrilleros and Neighbours in Arms: Identities & Cultures of Anti-Fascist Resistance in Spain
Marco
Paperback
From $24.99
Battling the Big Lie: How Fox, Facebook, and the Maga Media Are Destroying America
Pfeiffer, Dan
Hardcover
$10.99
Urban Revolutions: Urbanisation and (Neo-)Colonialism in Transatlantic Context
Kipfer, Stefan
Paperback
$43.50
Disciplining the Poor: Neoliberal Paternalism and the Persistent Power of Race
Fording, Richard C.
Schram, Sanford F.
Soss, Joe
Paperback
$50.75
Making America's Public Lands: The Contested History of Conservation on Federal Lands
Sowards, Adam M.
Hardcover
$56.00
Nonstate Warfare: The Military Methods of Guerillas, Warlords, and Militias
Biddle, Stephen
Hardcover
$67.50
By the Light of Burning Dreams: The Triumphs and Tragedies of the Second American Revolution
Talbot, David
Talbot, Margaret
Hardcover
$27.54
Requiem for the American Dream: The 10 Principles of Concentration of Wealth & Power
Chomsky, Noam
Paperback
$12.99
An Enemy Such as This: Larry Casuse and the Fight for Native Liberation in One Family on Two Continents Over Three Centuries
Correia, David
Hardcover
From $12.99
Turning the Tide: U.S. Intervention in Central America and the Struggle for Peace
Chomsky, Noam
Paperback
From $11.99
Democracy Incorporated: Managed Democracy and the Specter of Inverted Totalitarianism
Wolin, Sheldon S.
Paperback
$11.99
The Persuaders: At the Front Lines of the Fight for Hearts, Minds, and Democracy
Giridharadas, Anand
Hardcover
$10.99
Grassroots Rising: A Call to Action on Climate, Farming, Food, and a Green New Deal
Cummins, Ronnie
Paperback
From $10.99
Everyday Life and Politics in Nineteenth Century Mexico: Men, Women, and War
Wasserman, Mark
Paperback
$44.93
Accessory to War: The Unspoken Alliance Between Astrophysics and the Military
Degrasse Tyson, Neil
Lang, Avis
Hardcover
$28.50
Broken News: Why the Media Rage Machine Divides America and How to Fight Back
Stirewalt, Chris
Paperback
From $9.99
With Liberty and Justice for Some: How the Law Is Used to Destroy Equality and Protect the Powerful
Greenwald, Glenn
Hardcover
$35.14
Towards Collective Liberation: Anti-Racist Organizing, Feminist Praxis, and Movement Building Strategy
Crass, Chris
Paperback
$20.90
Doing History from the Bottom Up: On E.P. Thompson, Howard Zinn, and Rebuilding the Labor Movement from Below
Lynd, Staughton
Paperback
$18.95
China Wakes: The Struggle for the Soul of a Rising Power
Kristof, Nicholas D.
Wudunn, Sheryl
Paperback
From $8.99
The Clash of Globalizations: Neo-Liberalism, the Third Way and Anti-Globalization
Kiely, Ray
Paperback
$30.00
Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump
Haberman, Maggie
Swan, Jonathan
Hardcover
$30.60
The College Scam: How America's Universities Are Bankrupting and Brainwashing Away the Future of America's Youth
Kirk, Charlie
Hardcover
$35.99
Separation of Church and Hate: A Sane Person's Guide to Taking Back the Bible from Fundamentalists, Fascists, and Flock-Fleecing Frauds
Fugelsang, John
Hardcover
From $17.99
The U.S. Constitution: A Comprehensive and Annotated Guide for the Modern Reader
Murray, Melissa
Hardcover
$27.00
American Struggle: Democracy, Dissent, and the Pursuit of a More Perfect Union: An Anthology
Meacham, Jon
Hardcover
$34.20
The Hundred Years' War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917-2017
Khalidi, Rashid
Paperback
From $11.99
Into the Wood Chipper: A Whistleblower's Account of How the Trump Administration Shredded Usaid
Enrich, Nicholas
Hardcover
From $19.99
The Crooked Places Made Straight: Reflections on the Moral Meaning of America
Warnock, Raphael G.
Hardcover
$27.00
The Invisible Coup: How American Elites and Foreign Powers Use Immigration as a Weapon
Schweizer, Peter
Hardcover
$30.88
The Elijah Mandate: A Call to Courageous Faith in a Hostile World
Piflaks, Tolik
Tsarfati, Amir
Paperback
$18.04
The Lost Founder: James Wilson and the Forgotten Fight for a People's Constitution
Wegman, Jesse
Hardcover
$27.00
Last Branch Standing: A Potentially Surprising, Occasionally Witty Journey Inside Today's Supreme Court
Isgur, Sarah
Hardcover
$28.80
Live Laugh Love: The Secret History of White Christian Women and the World They Made
Kobes Du Mez, Kristin
Hardcover
$30.39
If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies: Why Superhuman AI Would Kill Us All
Soares, Nate
Yudkowsky, Eliezer
Hardcover
From $19.99
The Jakarta Method: Washington's Anticommunist Crusade and the Mass Murder Program That Shaped Our World
Bevins, Vincent
Paperback
$19.79
There Is No Place for Us: Working and Homeless in America (Pulitzer Prize Winner)
Goldstone, Brian
Paperback
$18.00
Country of Lords: Neo-Aristocrats, Social Darwinists, Tech Utopians, and the Long Fight Against Equality in America
Phillips-Fein, Kim
Hardcover
$31.50
Ordinary People, Extraordinary Times: How to Reclaim Your Power, Fight for Freedom, and Reimagine Democracy
Perryman, Skye
Paperback
$16.14
American Scoundrel: Roy Cohn's Dark Journey from Joe McCarthy to Donald Trump
Goldmark, Susan
Bird, Kai
Hardcover
$30.40
There Is No Place for Us: Working and Homeless in America (Pulitzer Prize Winner)
Goldstone, Brian
Hardcover
$28.50
Fear and Fury: The Reagan Eighties, the Bernie Goetz Shootings, and the Rebirth of White Rage
Thompson, Heather Ann
Hardcover
From $19.99
The Origins of Totalitarianism: With a New Introduction by Anne Applebaum
Applebaum, Anne
Arendt, Hannah
Paperback
$19.79
Alito: The Justice Who Reshaped the Supreme Court and Restored the Constitution
Hemingway, Mollie
Hardcover
$30.40