In 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, Yuval Noah Harari lays out a chilling vision of humanity’s predicament. He argues that liberalism, which emphasizes the importance of liberty and freedom in political and economic life, became the predominant ideology of the 20th century but is inadequate to manage the global challenges of the 21st century posed by nuclear weapons, emerging technologies, and impending ecological changes. Instead, tribalism in the form of nationalism, religion, and culture threatens to divide humanity against itself, leading to such problems as intolerance, war, and terrorism. The solution, Harari claims, is to avoid relying too heavily on any one narrative and instead to strive to see the world as it truly is. To do so, we should remain humble, seek reliable sources of data, understand our limitations and biases, and be ready for change.
As the title indicates, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century is divided into 21 chapters, loosely organized in five parts, with a brief introduction, endnote references, and an index to round out the page count. Part I: The Technological Challenge asserts that artificial intelligence and mechanization will radically change the nature of human work, as well as enable human behavior to be thoroughly understood and eventually controlled, and these changes will worsen inequality. Part II: The Political Challenge analyzes the emergence of a global community and the limits of that community, identifying different ways in which tribal interests have divided humanity along nationalist, religious, and cultural lines. Part III: Despair and Hope describes the potential conflicts of terrorism and war and proposes that we inoculate ourselves against these threats by being humble and skeptical of both religious and secular dogmatism. Part IV: Truth delves into the “posttruth” world, explaining that the proliferation of unfiltered information undermines our ability to detect factual and moral truths. Part V: Resilience suggests that, to make our way forward, we must first understand ourselves, learn to think critically, and strive to minimize suffering rather than adhere rigidly to any particular narrative or doctrine.
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