Off the edge of history
BSSB.BE LSE 02.07.2018
Balkans Germany The Baltic
* The risks we face, and the opportunities we have, in the 21st century are in many respects quite different from those experienced in earlier periods of history.
How should we analyse and respond to such a world? What is a rational balance of optimism and pessimism? How can we plan for a future that seems to elude our grasp and in some ways is imponderable?
Anthony Giddens is former Director of the LSE and a member of the House of Lords.
The publication is not an editorial. It reflects solely the point of view and argumentation of the author. The publication is presented in the presentation. Start in the previous issue. The original is available at: London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
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On the one hand we have advanced automation, robotics and supercomputers that possess power far in advance of anything the world has ever seen. Yet this is juxtaposed against the very real and serious threats of nuclear war, global pandemics, terrorism and more besides.
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According to Giddens, we are now living in a ‘high opportunity, high risk society’ – a world in which the opportunities and the risks are greater than they’ve ever been before.
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The human race has progressed so far in the past few decades that we can no longer confidently predict the future. Our influence, both on nature, and on our own bodies is such that we have moved into a new epoch – the Anthropocene – and must recognise the significant consequences our actions are having both upon ourselves and the world around us.
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According to Giddens, we are now living in a ‘high opportunity, high risk society’ – a world in which the opportunities and the risks are greater than they’ve ever been before. On the one hand we have advanced automation, robotics and supercomputers that possess power far in advance of anything the world has ever seen. Yet this is juxtaposed against the very real and serious threats of nuclear war, global pandemics, terrorism and more besides.
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