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What challenges will humanity face? - as explored in The Human Odyssey
Stephen Green's upcoming book The Human Odyssey raises important questions about the future of humanity. Will we all live in cities by the end of the century? Will conflict be unavoidable? Will we be on a journey towards self-centred individualism? In this blog post Stephen gives us an idea of what of to expect in his upcoming book.
We humans have been on a long journey and it has now reached a crucial stage. For the first time in our history everything we do affects everyone and everything else. In fact, the next hundred years will bring more and more change: more opportunities for more people to live the good life - and more risk of catastrophic harm to the entire planet. The Human Odyssey takes a close look at the challenges we all inevitably face.
We face change on three levels. Firstly, urbanisation and digital connectivity have brought about a radical break with our past. Most of us now live in cities, and by the end of the century virtually all of us will do so. This means that - for the first time in human history - we are growing up cut off from nature and thrown together with people from all sorts of different cultural backgrounds in a sort of global bazaar.
Secondly, the world’s economic centre of gravity is shifting eastwards. The rise of Asia - and in particular, the rise of China - is changing the balance of power. America is no longer the world’s superpower and the West is no longer sure of what it stands for. America is embarked on a strategy of containment: and Europe doesn’t know whether to engage with China or to follow America’s lead. In fact, the main geopolitical question for the next century is whether conflict is unavoidable - or whether the world views of the two main superpowers, the one essentially libertarian and the other fundamentally Confucian, can be made to work together constructively for the common good?
Thirdly: urbanisation brings out the individual in us - whether those in authority like it or not. The question - the deepest question of all - is whether that means we are inevitably on a journey towards a self-centred individualism? Or can we hope to achieve a mature individuality - an individuality that learns from the wisdom of others, such that the interaction of the world’s great cultures can be mutually enriching and transforming - and so that people and planet can thrive together?
‘Stephen Green asks important questions about what happens to humanity in the next hundred years. His book is a bold enterprise given the scale and pace of change around the world.’
- Baroness Valerie Amos CH, Director, the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, and former Leader of the House of Lords and United Nations Under-Secretary General
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