21 Lessons for the 21st Century

Best-seller Yuval Noah Harari seemed to be riding the wave of his book selling popularity with his "21 Lessons for the 21^st Century" (2018), as this book largely pulls together previously published material for the book market. Granted I am picking this book up in 2023 and much has changed in the years since publication, I did not find it particularly insightful. It often draws on broad generalizations (maybe by necessity given the global nature), resulting in inaccuracies. The book is weaved with various forms of determinisms – genetic, biological, socio-cultural, environmental. Wallerstein would almost certainly have pointed to the consistent metanarratives, via inclusions and exclusions, each with their own biases, assumptions and blinders, while the author argues he does not have a metanarrative (or is skeptical of them). A few notes:

"In a world deluged by irrelevant information, clarity is power. In theory, anybody can join the debate about the future of humanity, but it is so hard to maintain a clear vision. We might not even notice that a debate is going on, or what the key questions are. Most of us can't afford the luxury of investigating, because we have more pressing things to do: we have to go to work, take care of the kids, or look after elderly parents. Unfortunately, history does not give discounts. If the future of humanity is decided in your absence, because you are too busy feeding and clothing your kids, you and they will not be exempt from the consequences. This is unfair; but who said history was fair? As a historian, I cannot give people food or clothes – but I can try to offer some clarity, thereby helping to level the global playing field. If this empowers even a handful of additional people to join the debate about the future of our species, I have done my job." (p. xiiv)

"Human stupidity is one of the most important forces in history, yet we often tend to discount it. Politicians, generals, and scholars treat the world as a great chess game, where every move follows careful rational calculation. This is correct up to a point. Few leaders in history have been mad in the narrow sense of the word, moving pawns and knights at random. Hideki Tojo, Saddam Hussein, and Kim Jong-Il had rational reasons for every move they played. The problem is that the world is far more complicated than a chessboard, and human rationality is not up to the task of really understanding it. For that reason even rational leaders frequently end up doing very stupid things." (p. 184)

"If you really want truth, you need to escape the black hole of power and allow yourself to waste a lot of time wandering here and there on the periphery. Revolutionary knowledge rarely makes it to the center, because the center is built on existing knowledge. The guardians of the old order usually determine who gets to reach the centers of power, and they tend to filter out the carriers of disturbing, unconventional ideas. Of course, they filter out an incredible amount of rubbish too. Not being invited to the Davos World Economic Forum is hardly a guarantee of wisdom. That's why you need to waste so much time in the periphery: while it might contain some brilliant revolutionary insights, it is mostly full of uninformed guesses, debunked models, superstitious dogmas, and ridiculous conspiracy theories." (p. 228)