How golden ages really start—and end
The West may be slowly forgetting to allow this to happen through bureaucratic strangulation, but China will surely stifle it through political authoritarianism.
Matt Ridley • How Innovation Works: And Why It Flourishes in Freedom
It is about the push and pull between the past and the future. Since the sixteenth century, technological and economic change have produced enormous advances but also massive disruption. The disruption and the unequal distribution of its benefits stoke huge anxiety. Change and anxiety, in turn, leads to an identity revolution, with people searching
... See moreFareed Zakaria • Age of Revolutions: Progress and Backlash from 1600 to the Present
At present, it is far from clear whether Europe can find a middle path that will enable it to keep its gates open to strangers without being destabilized by people who don’t share its values. If Europe succeeds in finding such a path, perhaps its formula could be copied on the global level. If the European project fails, however, it would indicate
... See moreYuval Noah Harari • 21 Lessons for the 21st Century
They thought the golden age was in the past, and that the world was stagnant, if not deteriorating. Strict adherence to the wisdom of the ages might perhaps bring back the good old times, and human ingenuity might conceivably improve this or that facet of daily life.
Yuval Noah Harari • Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
We could lessen the danger by slowing down the pace of progress and growth.
Yuval Noah Harari • Homo Deus
The good news is that politicians will no more be able to dominate, suppress, and regulate the greater part of commerce in this new realm than the legislators of the ancient Greek city-states could have trimmed the beard of Zeus. That is good news for the rich. And even better news for the not so rich. The obstacles and burdens that politics impose
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