Book Review: 21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari
The inner jacket of 21 Lessons for the 21st Century references author Yuval Noah Harari's two previous books (Sapiens and Homo Deus), noting that the former explored the past, while the latter explored the future. The author's most recent product is said to be an exploration of the present. It's title is a trifle misleading, in that it isn't so much a primer on how to navigate the next four decades, inasmuch as it is a collection of insightful observations about the pace of change and mankind's ability to perceive and adapt to that change in a brave new world populated by algorithms, AI, "fake news", extreme income disparity and a job market that will not resemble in any way the one that previous generations have experienced and that we have come to expect.
Harari combines an engaging style of writing with a brilliant but humble and self-effacing intellect, as he tackles some very controversial subjects including religion, immigration, nationalization, social media, terrorism, secularism, education and justice. His take on religions, on nationalism and on terror will be seen as especially controversial to some, though his positions are based on logic rather than emotion or dogma. If they are the product of some hidden agenda, it is one that is very well hidden.
The author begins by noting how the world evolved into three major political paradigms, two of which (fascism and communism) history has proven to be unworkable failures. He refers to the third as "liberalism", but lest conservatives be put off by this label, what he is really talking about is democracy. Harari speculates on how the third political structure is experiencing its own problems as it encounters a changing world that is unsure how to deal with rapidly advancing technology that will leave many in the labour force behind, and that is hatching the populist rejection of many established institutions. What are we to make of this, and what will be left in its wake?
Harari doesn't teach "lessons" as his title might suggest. This isn't a book about how to navigate the rapid change that we are in the midst of experiencing. As algorithms and AI replace the great minds and are able to determine (or even shape) human trends, he doesn't offer suggestions of how to personally profit from this, what career path to follow or how to plan retirement. Instead he tries to alert the reader to the pitfalls of manipulation through past myth and story-telling, through emotional appeals and computer-generated trends, in order to remind us to think for ourselves, to discern the information we are fed and be discerning about what we are told. Harari offers a message that does not tell the reader what to think, but rather how to think for himself or herself.
The book builds to a final crescendo, and without giving away any spoilers, the final chapter is both unexpected and yet surprisingly satisfying. The world has become an extremely complex place and it would be suspicious if any author claimed to be able to have all of the answers tied up in a neat little bow. Yuval Noah Harari focuses on trying to structure an ethically based manner of thinking about these problems that is not based on dogma, manipulation of emotions, or herd mentality. It is a tall order during these times. Reading this book is a worthwhile endeavour for all independent thinkers striving to fend off an avalanche of information in an age moving faster than the speed of thought.
Harari combines an engaging style of writing with a brilliant but humble and self-effacing intellect, as he tackles some very controversial subjects including religion, immigration, nationalization, social media, terrorism, secularism, education and justice. His take on religions, on nationalism and on terror will be seen as especially controversial to some, though his positions are based on logic rather than emotion or dogma. If they are the product of some hidden agenda, it is one that is very well hidden.
The author begins by noting how the world evolved into three major political paradigms, two of which (fascism and communism) history has proven to be unworkable failures. He refers to the third as "liberalism", but lest conservatives be put off by this label, what he is really talking about is democracy. Harari speculates on how the third political structure is experiencing its own problems as it encounters a changing world that is unsure how to deal with rapidly advancing technology that will leave many in the labour force behind, and that is hatching the populist rejection of many established institutions. What are we to make of this, and what will be left in its wake?
Harari doesn't teach "lessons" as his title might suggest. This isn't a book about how to navigate the rapid change that we are in the midst of experiencing. As algorithms and AI replace the great minds and are able to determine (or even shape) human trends, he doesn't offer suggestions of how to personally profit from this, what career path to follow or how to plan retirement. Instead he tries to alert the reader to the pitfalls of manipulation through past myth and story-telling, through emotional appeals and computer-generated trends, in order to remind us to think for ourselves, to discern the information we are fed and be discerning about what we are told. Harari offers a message that does not tell the reader what to think, but rather how to think for himself or herself.
The book builds to a final crescendo, and without giving away any spoilers, the final chapter is both unexpected and yet surprisingly satisfying. The world has become an extremely complex place and it would be suspicious if any author claimed to be able to have all of the answers tied up in a neat little bow. Yuval Noah Harari focuses on trying to structure an ethically based manner of thinking about these problems that is not based on dogma, manipulation of emotions, or herd mentality. It is a tall order during these times. Reading this book is a worthwhile endeavour for all independent thinkers striving to fend off an avalanche of information in an age moving faster than the speed of thought.