Title: 21 Lessons for the 21st Century
Author: Yuval Noah Harari
Publisher: Jonathan Cape (Penguin Random House UK)
Pages: 352; Price: Rs 799
Yuval Noah Harari is a historian, a lecturer at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and specialises in world history. He has two books to his credit. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind dealt with human past, examining how an insignificant ape became the ruler of the Earth. Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow explored the long-term future of life, contemplating how humans might be the destiny of intelligence and consciousness.
The latest book, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century focusses on the present issues and challenges, current affairs and their implications in near future and in the long run. The author begins with saying people may have their own problems: A single mother in Mumbai slum will think of the next meal, refugees in a boat in the Mediterranean Sea will want to reach the land and a dying man in a London hospital will think of a fast recovery. He is more concerned about global issues. and will focus his time and energy on shaping major societies, which can influence the future of the planet. But, climate change can affect all the troubled people.
The writer tries to figure out how Trump shot to fame, what is needed to curb fake news, is liberal democracy in crisis, is god back, who dominates the world — West, China or Islam? People’s lives influence others and revolutionise society. For instance, women who suffered at the hand of perverts shared their stories, which kick up the #MeToo movement.
Divided into five parts, the book has 21 chapters. Part one deals with technological challenges. The first chapter talks of liberty, peace and prosperity. It discusses and compares different countries, their heads at different times, and how they handled situations. Harari briefly sheds light on what happens when the West progresses; if other countries resist, they lag behind. What was the situation like a few decades ago? How the 2008 global depression increased pressure on the market, leading to tough steps like sanctions and border sealings, tightening of immigration rules.
Essay two speaks of the present-day job market, science, technology, artificial intelligence and basic skill requirements now and in 2050. Automakers have come up with self-driving vehicles, making drivers redundant. Likewise, other innovations will make other human resources redundant. What will happen in future when the technology will replace human beings? To which sector these resources will go? Either they will have to upgrade their skills, change their profession or lose the job.
Likewise, a myriad of challenges relating to education, work, science, technology, agriculture, politics, religion, culture, civilisation, ecology, climate, geography, social, nationalism, nuclear and other wars, have been discussed extensively. The beautifully-crafted book opens mind to various issues that one doesn’t get time to think of, but are crucial and cries out for people’s attention.
As per chapter 10 of the masterpiece, people think terrorism is the biggest problem. In fact, accidents claim more lives. Terrorism is just a creation of fear. Even sugar claims more lives. One needs to fear from such health and other problems and look for their solutions. The development of nuclear warheads has also been discussed pertinently. One country might claim it was first to develop the latest nuclear weapon. But, the book mentions the great Indian epic Mahabharata showed nuclear weapons were used in Kurukshetra thousands of years ago. And, Hindu is the oldest religion.
A few pages might offend some, as the book reveals bitter truths about a Muslim or a Hindu person alike. Talking about an issue, it says, “A Hindu may engage in tax frauds, visit prostitutes and mistreat elderly parents, but convinces himself he is pious, because he supports the demolition of the Babri and donated money to build a Hindu temple.”
