21 Lessons for the 21st Century Book Summary

The liberal story that dominated global politics in recent decades is under threat. According to this story, humankind was moving towards a single global society of free markets and democratic politics. Many expected the world to converge around liberal values after the end of the Cold War. However, nationalism, religion and culture are now returning to divide humans into hostile camps. Economic inequality is rising. Instead of a single global society, the world is fracturing.

Section: 1, Chapter: 1

As artificial intelligence advances, machines may soon be able to outperform humans at most cognitive tasks. Robots and 3D printers could produce most of the products and services that people need. If this happens, the majority of humans may lose their economic value. The economy wouldn't need their labor or purchasing power anymore. A small elite may own the all-powerful algorithms and robot factories, making unprecedented profits. But the masses may become an economically irrelevant "useless class." Inequality could skyrocket to previously unthinkable levels.

Section: 1, Chapter: 2

One proposed solution to the threat of mass unemployment caused by automation is universal basic income (UBI):

• The government would tax a portion of the immense wealth generated by artificial intelligence and use it to provide all citizens with a guaranteed livable income, regardless of whether they work or not.
• This could help prevent mass joblessness from leading to total economic and social collapse. Even if most people lost their jobs to machines, they would still have enough income to meet their basic needs and consume products and services.
• UBI could be combined with universal free education, enabling the unemployed to gain new skills for the remaining human jobs. It could also be supplemented with socially useful make-work or jobs focused on human interaction.
• However, UBI may not give unemployed people a sense of meaning and social status previously provided by jobs. Societies may need to radically change how they view work, leisure and the purpose of life as automation progresses.

Section: 1, Chapter: 4

Humans have bodies, and throughout history we have depended on physical communities for our survival and wellbeing.

• Communities provide us with meaning, support, and a sense of belonging. They are crucial for our physical and mental health.
• However, communities also restrict our freedom, pressuring us to conform to social norms and traditions. They can be stifling and oppressive, especially to minorities and outliers.

In the 21st century, many of our physical interactions and dependencies are being replaced by virtual ones. More and more of life is moving onto cyberspace and online networks. This is liberating in many ways, but may leave our bodies and local communities neglected, making us feel unmoored and alienated.

Section: 2, Chapter: 5

For most of history, religion was seen as the ultimate source of authority, values and knowledge. However, the scientific revolution radically undermined religion's monopoly:

• Science offered far more convincing and useful explanations for natural phenomena based on observation and logic, not faith. Lightning was proven to be an electrical phenomenon, not the wrath of Zeus.
• Technology derived from science became indispensable for modern societies to function. It was impossible to reject physics while accepting radios, impossible to reject biology while accepting vaccines and impossible to reject chemistry while accepting fertilizer.
• Philosophers argued that values and morals too should be defined by reason and evidence, not religious dogma. Influential thinkers like John Locke derived human rights from logical arguments, not divine fiat.

Today, the place of religion has been largely replaced by science, in terms of defining what is objectively real, and by secular humanism, in terms of defining what is ethical and meaningful.

Section: 2, Chapter: 8

How should a multicultural society deal with intolerant subcultures in its midst? It's a hard dilemma with no easy answers. Consider:

• A tolerant society that accepts diversity will inevitably include some intolerant groups that reject diversity, like religious fundamentalists who oppose gay rights or immigrants who refuse to integrate.
• If a society is too tolerant of intolerance, it risks letting hateful groups undermine its core values and institutions. But if a society is too intolerant of intolerant groups, it becomes a bit intolerant itself.

There's no clear solution, but here are some principles to consider:

• Insist that all groups, no matter how traditional, respect the fundamental human rights of their members.
• When groups express bigoted views, counter them openly with arguments and data, don't just ban the expression. Outlawing ideas risks letting them fester underground.
• Focus on integrating the younger generation of minorities through mixed schools and neighborhoods.

Section: 2, Chapter: 9

People used to take for granted that some cultures were superior to others. European colonial powers justified their conquests by claiming to bring the benefits of civilization to backward peoples. Esteemed philosophers like John Stuart Mill argued that "barbarous" nations benefited from being conquered and culturally assimilated by more advanced European countries.

However, modern anthropologists reject this. They argue:

• Cultures should be judged on their own terms, not by some universal standard.
• Virtually all peoples have sophisticated artistic, religious and intellectual traditions if you examine them closely.
• Claiming one culture is superior to another is unscientific. There are no objective metrics of cultural advancement. Such comparisons usually just reflect the biases of the comparer.

But this relativism is challenged by the fact that cultures aren't separated. They are always mixing and influencing each other through trade, migration, war and media. In an interconnected world, upholding universal human rights requires judging practices across cultures. Rejecting moral relativism doesn't mean reverting to colonialist arrogance. But it does mean acknowledging that not all cultural practices are equally defensible in the modern world.

Section: 2, Chapter: 9

Terrorists win by provoking an overreaction, not by the damage they directly inflict. A terrorist attack kills a handful of people, but when nations overreact with drastic security crackdowns and foreign wars, they often end up causing far more harm to themselves than the terrorists ever could.

The costs include budgets drained by expensive conflicts, security measures that restrict civil liberties, increased hatreds from the collateral damage of interventions, and more terrorist recruits due to the resulting instability and resentment. Ironically, overreacting to terrorism often ends up serving the aims of terrorists and undermining the overreacting nation itself. The challenge for targeted states is to respond firmly without playing into terrorists' hands.

Section: 3, Chapter: 10

Science has become the most powerful source of knowledge in the modern world, replacing religion as the chief authority that society relies on to understand reality. Many people now look to science to determine moral values and meaning in life as well.

However, while science excels at describing how the world is, it cannot tell us how the world should be. No amount of factual knowledge can directly dictate human values. Science and technology can be enormously beneficial or destructive depending on the ethical framework that guides them. From the same scientific insights, you can develop medicines that save lives or weapons that exterminate whole populations.

Section: 3, Chapter: 13

Secularism is often equated with nihilism or seen as a purely negative denial of all religious and traditional values. But in fact, secularism contains its own positive ethical worldview based on key moral principles:

• Compassion for all sentient beings and a commitment to alleviating suffering
• Pursuit of truth through reason, evidence and the scientific method rather than dogma
• Protection of human freedom and individual choice against coercion by authorities
• Upholding justice and equality under laws that apply to all

Secular societies have sometimes betrayed these principles in practice. But that is a failure of living up to secularism, not a failure of secularism itself. At its best, secularism provides a robust ethical foundation not based on commands from deities but on reasoned consideration of how to maximize human wellbeing.

Section: 3, Chapter: 14

In the past, knowledge was scarce and most people had access to very limited information about the world. Today, we are flooded with enormous amounts of information from a wide range of sources. However, this abundance of information doesn't necessarily lead to greater understanding or wisdom.

With the rise of fake news, conspiracy theories, and polarized echo chambers, it can be increasingly difficult to distinguish truth from falsehood. Attention, not information, is now the scarce resource. The challenge is not just to access facts, but to sift through the overwhelming torrent of data and narratives to determine what is actually true and important. More than ever, we need to cultivate discernment, critical thinking and intellectual humility.

Section: 4, Chapter: 15

In a globalized and interconnected world, our sense of justice is often overwhelmed by the sheer complexity of causal connections and unintended consequences. Small choices we make, from the food we eat to the products we buy, can have far-reaching impacts on people and environments across the planet in ways we barely comprehend.

Our moral intuitions, which evolved for dealing with small groups of nearby individuals, are ill-equipped to handle such vast and intricate networks of cause and effect. We may feel a clear moral duty to help a drowning child right in front of us, but our feelings are much more ambiguous about the distant sweatshop workers or future generations affected by our everyday actions. Expanding our circle of ethical concern to include all of humanity, and even all sentient beings, is an immense challenge.

Section: 4, Chapter: 16

As artificial intelligence grows more sophisticated, many people worry about sci-fi scenarios where sentient robots become conscious and decide to rebel against humanity. However, this fear misses the actual risks of AI and attributes too much human-like autonomy to machines.

The more likely danger is that AI will empower human actors in dangerous ways. Authoritarian governments may use AI to create unprecedented surveillance states that can track citizens' every move. Terrorists and criminals may use AI to carry out more destructive attacks and scams. Corporations may use AI to manipulate consumers' choices and exploit their data. In all these cases, the threat comes not from machines becoming autonomous agents, but from the humans deploying the machines for their own purposes.

Section: 4, Chapter: 18

In the past, schools focused on providing students with information and specific skills for lifelong careers. However, in a world where knowledge is instantly accessible online and skills quickly become obsolete, this model is outdated. The most important skills now are the ability to keep learning, to think critically and to adapt flexibly to a rapidly changing world.

Education should shift towards teaching these meta-skills that will remain crucial even as individual technologies and industries are disrupted. Less time should be spent on memorizing facts, and more on learning how to find reliable information, distinguish truth from falsehood, understand different perspectives, and update one's beliefs based on evidence. Emotional intelligence and social skills that help people collaborate will also be increasingly vital.

Section: 5, Chapter: 19

Meditation has often been seen as an esoteric practice for ascetics and hermits unconcerned with the affairs of the world. However, in an age of accelerating change, volatility and anxiety, meditative practices may be more relevant than ever before for people from all walks of life. By observing sensations, thoughts and emotions with equanimity, one can find an island of calm within the storm.

More importantly, meditation can help us avoid being swept away unthinkingly by the stories we tell ourselves and develop the insight to view our own minds with more clarity. As technological disruptions make the future more unpredictable and our old certainties crumble, knowing our own minds and maintaining mental balance will become a crucial skill. While not a panacea, regular contemplative practice can help us stay grounded, present and compassionate in an age of bewildering transformations. Even a little more awareness of our inner lives can make a big difference in how we engage with the world.

Section: 5, Chapter: 21