The Good Ancestor: A Radical Prescription for Long-Term Thinking

by Roman Krznaric

Overview

From leading philosopher Roman Krznaric, an urgent call to save ourselves and our planet by getting to the root of the current crisis—society’s extreme short-sightedness

As heard on NPR’s TED Radio Hour

When Jonas Salk developed the polio vaccine, he refused to patent it—forgoing profit so that more lives could be saved. His radical generosity to future generations should inspire us, but leading philosopher Roman Krznaric sees the opposite happening: Our short-term, exploitative mindsets have “colonized the future,” leaving an inexcusable chasm between the haves and have-nots—and mounting existential threats—that have brought our species to the precipice of disaster.

Yet Krznaric sees reason to hope. The urgent struggle for intergenerational justice calls for hugely ambitious solutions, from rewiring our growth-at-all-costs economy to giving voters of future generations a voice in our democracies. But at the heart of all these changes is one we can enact within ourselves: We must trade shortsightedness for long-term thinking. In The Good Ancestor, Krznaric reveals six practical ways we can retrain our brains to think of the long view and to shift our allegiance from this generation to all humanity—to save our planet and our future.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781615198337
Publisher:	The Experiment, LLC
Publication date:	08/31/2021
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	232,389
Product dimensions:	7.90(w) x 5.50(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Roman Krznaric is a public philosopher who writes about the power of ideas to change society. His books include Empathy, The Wonderbox, and Carpe Diem, and have been published in more than twenty languages. He studied at the Universities of Oxford, London, and Essex, where he received his PhD. He is a founding faculty member of The School of Life and is based in the UK.
 

Table of Contents

Preface xiii

Part 1 The Tug-Of-War for Time

1 How Can We Be Good Ancestors? 3

2 The Marshmallow and the Acorn

Inside Our Time-Torn Brains 17

Part 2 Six Ways to Think Long

3 Deep-Time Humility

Humankind as an Eyeblink in Cosmic History 39

4 Legacy Mindset

How Can We Be Remembered Well? 57

5 Intergenerational Justice

Reasons to Respect the Seventh Generation 71

6 Cathedral Thinking

The Art of Planning into the Distant Future 92

7 Holistic Forecasting

Long-Term Pathways for Civilization 116

8 Transcendent Goal

A Lodestar to Guide Humanity 138

Part 3 Bring on the Time Rebellion

9 Deep Democracy

Is There an Antidote for Political Myopia? 163

10 Ecological Civilization

From Speculative Capitalism to Regenerative Economy 194

11 Cultural Evolution

Storytelling, Design, and the Rise of Virtual Futures 219

12 The Path of the Good Ancestor 238

Appendix: The Intergenerational Solidarity Index 246

Acknowledgments 251

Notes 253

List of Illustrations 287

Bibliography 288

Index 302

About the Author 322

Editorial Reviews

"It is a cliché to declare a book essential reading, but in this case it is true. In a little more than 300 pages Krznaric develops a powerful set of concepts and a frame that will serve to refresh and undergird the civic rationale of public planning."

Journal of the American Planning Association

"Roman Krznaric addresses the greatest challenge confronting the world: How can humanity survive this century and flourish in the next? His book deserves to be widely read—by policy makers, and indeed by all citizens who care about the prospects for their children and grandchildren."

Professor Martin Rees

"Philosopher Roman Krznaric calmly calls for a reorientation toward the future, not to benefit us, but to benefit our far-off descendants. . . . [The point is] to emphasize the agency of the present moment and the potential, however imperfect, to influence the future."

The Atlantic

"The individualistic philosophies of the last century have generated huge concentrations of wealth—but at the same time put us on the road to social, political, and environmental collapse. This clear-sighted and inspiring book suggests a different view of who humans are and what they really value—and a number of ways off that lethal road. It’s a must-read for anyone who’s looking for the good news."

musician and composer Brian Eno

"Krznaric’s seamless and magical prose delights on every page. Let’s engrave his ’six ways to think long’ across the gateway to every Parliament in the world."

Professor Tim Jackson

"A fascinating and inspiring exploration of one of the great relationship questions of the 21st century: How can we extend our circle of care to future generations?"

John Gray

"Roman Krznaric passionately argues that thinking long term would bring untold benefits and may very well be vital to our survival as a species. Lose yourself in these pages, expand your time horizons, and reimagine your relationship to time, to the future"

Rob Hopkins

"A work of genius that draws on the wisdom-traditions of cultures from across the globe."

Martin Kalungu-Banda

"Full of revelations for everyone who cares about the legacy they leave. This is the book our children’s children will thank us for reading."

The Edge

"A philosopher’s contribution to saving the world."

The Guardian

"I judge a book’s usefulness by how many pages I’m compelled to dog-ear and underline. This book on the pragmatics of long-term thinking earned 50-plus dog-ears."

Stewart Brand

"A great antidote to the short-term thinking that comes easily to us all. If you want to be a good ancestor, start by reading this book."

Nigel Warburton

"Krznaric asks the defining moral question for our age: How will future generations look back on our legacy? A superb intellectual history and razor-sharp analysis of contemporary politics, this book will change how you think about the worldand is a call to action. Read it. You owe it to your children’s children."

Kevin Watkins

"A provocative and well-written . . . essay on the history of the human race and its possible future."

Choice

"2020 Foreword INDIES Honorable Mention
As heard on NPR’s TED Radio Hour

"Beautiful to read, heartfelt, and persuasive . . . one of those landmark books with the power to shift a mindset. One turns the pages feeling a growing compulsion for change."

Isabella Tree

2020 Foreword INDIES Honorable Mention
As heard on NPR’s TED Radio Hour

“Beautiful to read, heartfelt, and persuasive . . . one of those landmark books with the power to shift a mindset. One turns the pages feeling a growing compulsion for change.”—Isabella Tree, author of Wilding

“A philosopher’s contribution to saving the world.”—The Guardian

“Full of revelations for everyone who cares about the legacy they leave. This is the book our children’s children will thank us for reading.”—The Edge, U2

“Philosopher Roman Krznaric calmly calls for a reorientation toward the future, not to benefit us, but to benefit our far-off descendants. . . [The point is] to emphasize the agency of the present moment and the potential, however imperfect, to influence the future.”—The Atlantic

“Roman Krznaric addresses the greatest challenge confronting the world: How can humanity survive this century and flourish in the next? His book deserves to be widely read—by policy makers, and indeed by all citizens who care about the prospects for their children and grandchildren.”—Professor Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal and author of On The Future

“A provocative and well-written . . . essay on the history of the human race and its possible future.”—Choice

“It is a cliché to declare a book essential reading, but in this case it is true. In a little more than 300 pages Krznaric develops a powerful set of concepts and a frame that will serve to refresh and undergird the civic rationale of public planning.”—Journal of the American Planning Association

“A work of genius that draws on the wisdom-traditions of cultures from across the globe.”—Martin Kalungu-Banda, Ubuntu Lab and Saïd Business School, Oxford University

“The individualistic philosophies of the last century have generated huge concentrations of wealth—but at the same time put us on the road to social, political, and environmental collapse. This clear-sighted and inspiring book suggests a different view of who humans are and what they really value—and a number of ways off that lethal road. It’s a must-read for anyone who’s looking for the good news.”—musician and composer Brian Eno

“A great antidote to the short-term thinking that comes easily to us all. If you want to be a good ancestor, start by reading this book.”—Nigel Warburton, author of A Little History of Philosophy and founder of the Philosophy Bites podcast

“I judge a book’s usefulness by how many pages I’m compelled to dog-ear and underline. This book on the pragmatics of long-term thinking earned 50-plus dog-ears.”—Stewart Brand, creator of the Whole Earth Catalog and co-founder of The Long Now Foundation

“Krznaric’s seamless and magical prose delights on every page. Let’s engrave his ’six ways to think long’ across the gateway to every Parliament in the world.”—Professor Tim Jackson, author of Prosperity Without Growth

“Roman Krznaric passionately argues that thinking long term would bring untold benefits and may very well be vital to our survival as a species. Lose yourself in these pages, expand your time horizons, and reimagine your relationship to time, to the future, to activism.”—Rob Hopkins, founder of the Transition Town movement and author of From What Is to What If

“A fascinating and inspiring exploration of one of the great relationship questions of the 21st century: How can we extend our circle of care to future generations?”—John Gray, New York Times–bestselling author of Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus

“Krznaric asks the defining moral question for our age: How will future generations look back on our legacy? A superb intellectual history and razor-sharp analysis of contemporary politics, this book will change how you think about the worldand is a call to action. Read it. You owe it to your children’s children.”—Kevin Watkins, Chief Executive, Save the Children

“How timely can a book be? Roman Krznaric fizzes with ideas about how we tackle that cuckoo in the nest, short-term thinking. We need to think today for tomorrow, to give future generations their rightful seat at the table.”—Lord John Bird MBE, founder of The Big Issue

“An important and fascinating book that asks whether we’ve got what it takes to become citizens rather than consumers and create an ecological civilization. The Good Ancestor is a triumph.”—Sir Tim Smit, co-founder of the Eden Project

“From the seventh-generation thinking of Native American tribes to legally empowered guardians of the future and citizens’ assemblies, Krznaric explores a wealth of ways we can become good ancestors. For anyone who is interested in how we can get today’s society to leave the world better than they found it—this is your guide.”—Sophie Howe, Future Generations Commissioner for Wales

“In this persuasive book, one of our leading thinkers, Roman Krznaric, expands his ground-breaking work on empathy to argue that our only hope of survival is to develop deep empathy for future generations across time and space.”—Professor Morten Kringelbach, neuroscientist, Universities of Oxford and Aarhus, Denmark

From the Publisher

Joe Jameson narrates this impressive work of humanistic philosophy with the seriousness, clarity, and style that it merits. His English accent and educated tone amplify the listening experience of this excursion into the idea of how one can be a “good ancestor.” First posed by American scientist Jonas Salk, this question launches Krznaric’s treatise on the kinds of decisions—individual, communal, global—that must be made now when instant gratification rules and the climate crisis looms large. Packed with thoughtful suggestions and inspiring stories of people like youthful environmental activist Greta Thunberg and case histories in countries from Iceland to China, this audiobook proposes sweeping changes in how people and governments behave. The author asks all of us to readjust our thinking to the concept of “the long now.” A.D.M. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine

JANUARY 2021 - AudioFile