Roman Krznaric contemplates on becoming a good ancestor

Have you ever thought of yourself as an ancestor? Being a cultural historian, Roman Krznaric contemplates the future by asking how we, soon-to-be ancestors, are currently shaping our world for future generations. What will they think of our lifestyle choices, our urban constructions, or societal conventions? Krznaric analyzes how our own predecessors were looking for a way of worldmaking that took posterity into account. More outstandingly, he shows us how these modes of thinking and doing pushed forward human evolution.

As short-termism leads us to think and live only in the here and now, we lose sight of the future consequences of our actions. The author accepts the challenge of making us not only shift perspective on time, but also reflect upon the presumed necessity (and existing dangers) of the short-term way of living. What if politicians started acting with future generations in mind rather than the next elections? Would we be more conscious as consumers if we replace the "buy now" button with a "buy in a month"? Krznaric pleads for reintroducing long-term thinking when faced with crisis, instead of decision-making that’s focused on current circumstances.

Get your copy of The Good Ancestor here.

PS: Looking for more reading tips? Enjoy our carefully crafted, yet always debatable and probably incomplete list of ten books that continue to inspire the next nature philosophy via this link.