The Meaning of the 21^st Century

At the start of the 21^st century, 【A1】 humankind finds itself on a non-sustainable course—the course that, unless it is changed, could lead to grand scale catastrophes. At the same time, we are unlocking formidable new capabilities that lead to more exciting lives and glorious civilizations. This could be either humanity’s last century or the century that sets the world on a course toward a spectacular future.

We live on a small, beautiful and a totally isolated planet, but its population is becoming too large; enormous new consumer societies are growing, of which China is the largest; and 【A2】technology is becoming powerful enough to wreck the planet. We are traveling at breakneck speed into an age of the extremes—extremes in wealth and poverty, extremes in technology and the experiments that scientists want to perform, extreme forces of globalism, weapons of mass destruction and terrorists acting in the name of religion. If we are to survive, we have to learn how to manage this situation.

【A3】 Formidable problems confront us, but this is a book about solutions—many solutions. With these solutions we will bring about the change in course, a great 21^st century transition. If we get it right, we have an extraordinary future. If we get it wrong, we face an irreversible disruption that could set humanity back centuries.【A4】 A drastic change is needed in the first half of that 21^st century to set the stage for extraordinary events in the rest of the century.

Humankind has been able to thrive for thousands of years because nature provided it with resources like topsoil, underground water, fish in the oceans, minerals, oil and wetlands, but these resources are finite, like cookies in a jar. 【A5】We are using up many of these resources, and some don’t have substitutes.

【A1】

【A2】

【A3】

【A4】

【A5】