Summary of 21Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari

By Ben Lam

21 Lessons for the 21st Century: A Complete Summary

We think we have seen the worst of this world: the violation of human rights, terrorism and killings here and there. Sadly, it is going to get worse because the future is not “bright.” We also think technology and we (humans) rule the world and nothing can ever change that but if we do nothing, the environment would unseat us. Also, we are so engrossed in other seemingly important things except the things that can save us.

In the book, “21 Lessons for the 21stCentury, Yuval Noah Harari raises challenging questions about concepts that have become so enshrined in global society and the author shows how these concepts have failed us, particularly now that we need them the most. This book rattles the foundation of everything we have believed over the years and how they are now the very things that have stopped us from coming together to fight and win the battle of the future.

This book does not merely scratch the surface, instead it goes in-depth to explain different ideologies and how we have always thought they were the answers to the world’s problems. The book also gives readers something to think about after they have finished it.

Part one presents the present global problems and the ones that will occur in the near future. The second part presents and examines the concepts we have embraced that seem like answers. The third part deals with war and terrorism in our present realities. The fourth part attempts to debunk all the fables we have heard so many times that they have become our current truths. Part five ties them all together and takes a general view at how we can find ourselves and make effort to save ourselves.

Here is a Preview of What You Will Get:

A Full Book Summary

An Analysis

Fun quizzes

Quiz Answers

Etc

Get a copy of this summary and learn about the ebook. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Booksummary
• Release date: Feb 16, 2019

Book preview

Introduction

We think we have seen the worst of this world: the violation of human rights, terrorism and killings here and there. Sadly, it is going to get worse because the future is not bright. We also think technology and we (humans) rule the world and nothing can ever change that but if we do nothing, the environment would unseat us. Also, we are so engrossed in other seemingly important things except the things that can save us.

In the book, "21 Lessons for the 21st Century, Yuval Noah Harari raises challenging questions about concepts that have become so enshrined in global society and the author shows how these concepts have failed us, particularly now that we need them the most. This book rattles the foundation of everything we have believed over the years and how they are now the very things that have stopped us from coming together to fight and win the battle of the future.

This book does not merely scratch the surface, instead it goes in-depth to explain different ideologies and how we have always thought they were the answers to the world’s problems. The book also gives readers something to think about after they have finished it.

Part one presents the present global problems and the ones that will occur in the near future. The second part presents and examines the concepts we have embraced that seem like answers. The third part deals with war and terrorism in our present realities. The fourth part attempts to debunk all the fables we have heard so many times that they have become our current truths. Part five ties them all together and takes a general view at how we can find ourselves and make effort to save ourselves.

Part I: The Technological Challenge

In the first part of this book, author Yuval Noah Harari looks at the challenges brought about by the merger between infotech and biotech, at a time when humankind is losing faith in the liberal view of global politics. Yuval looks at the technological challenge from four different angles: disillusionment, work, liberty and equality.

Chapter One: Disillusionment

Yuval starts by looking at the three major ideologies that have been used to shape people’s views of the world in the last century. Before the 20th century, three grand ideologies were formulated by the global elites in New York, London, Berlin and Moscow—the fascist ideology, the communist ideology and the liberal ideology. After the Second World War, the fascist ideology was knocked out, leaving the world in a state of contention between the communist and liberal ideologies. In the late 1980’s, communism collapsed, leaving liberalism as the dominant manual for the future of the world.

Many governments from all over the world adopted the liberal ideology. However, following the financial crisis of 2008, people started to become disillusioned with the liberal ideology. Instead of free movement of people and goods, personal liberties, free enterprise and democratic regimes, people have started becoming resistant to immigration and trade agreements. Governments have started to restrict the freedom of the press and undermining judicial systems. The disillusionment came to a tipping point with the rise of Donald Trump in the US and the Brexit vote in Britain in 2016.

From three major ideologies, the world picked one that seemed the most robust. Today, however, the dominant ideology is also collapsing, leaving the world in a state of shock and disorientation. Without any meaningful ideology with which to interpret the world, people are turning to an apocalyptic viewpoint. This sense of impending doom is exacerbated by the accelerating pace of technological disruption. The rise of the internet was a major blow to the democratic system. The blockchain revolution and the rise of AI will make matters even worse for liberalism.

Liberalism claimed the position of the dominant ideology by focusing on the common person. He was given rights and told he was the most important thing in the world. However, technology is making the common person feel irrelevant. Automation is taking jobs away from the common person. Technological disruption is transferring power from the people to a few elites. To make matters worse, this new revolution is driven by scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs—who do not represent anyone—instead of politicians. It is no wonder, therefore, that