Roman Krznaric - The Good Ancestor

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

I judge a books usefulness by how many pages Im 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

An important and fascinating book that asks whether weve got what it takes to become citizens rather than consumers and create an ecological civilisation. The Good Ancestor is a triumph

Sir Tim Smit, co-founder of the Eden Project

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

Krznarics seamless and magical prose delights on every page. Lets engrave his six ways to think long across the gateway to every Parliament in the world

Professor Tim Jackson, author of Prosperity Without Growth

There could be few more urgent tasks for any thinking person alive today than encountering this book. Read it: with slow deliberate care

Professor Rupert Read, UEA, author of This Civilisation Is Finished and Extinction Rebellion Political Liaison and Spokesperson

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 todays society to leave the world better than they found it this is your guide

Sophie Howe, Future Generations Commissioner for Wales

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 world and is a call to action. Read it. You owe it to your childrens children

Kevin Watkins, Chief Executive of Save the Children

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

With a dazzling range of sources, zinging with ideas, stories and jaw-dropping graphics, The Good Ancestor is packed with information and insight. Every school should have a copy, with its maps and plans on every classroom wall

Michael Wood, historian, broadcaster and author of The Story of China

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

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

This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the authors and publishers rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

WH Allen, an imprint of Ebury Publishing,
20 Vauxhall Bridge Road,
London SW1V 2SA

WH Allen is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com.

Copyright Roman Krznaric 2020

Cover Design Jamie Kenan

Extract from Hieroglyphic Stairway by Drew Dellinger, reprinted by permission of the author. Quote attributed to Jonas Salk used with permission of the Jonas Salk Legacy Foundation and the family of Jonas Salk.

Roman Krznaric has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this Work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

First published by WH Allen in 2020

penguin.co.uk

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 9780753554524

The most important question we must ask ourselves is, Are we being good ancestors?

Jonas Salk

its 3:23 in the morning

and I cant sleep

because my great great grandchildren

ask me in dreams

what did you do while the earth was unravelling?

Drew Dellinger

Coronavirus (COVID-19) spread worldwide just as this book was going to press. The pandemic has understandably focused our attention on the here and now, with families, communities, businesses and governments acting to confront the fierce urgency of the crisis. In the midst of such an immediate threat, what insights does long-term thinking offer?

Most obviously, those countries that had already made long-term preparations for possible pandemics have so far been able to deal with the virus most effectively: while Taiwan had virus testing and tracing mechanisms in place following its experience of the 2003 SARS outbreak, the US response was hampered by having disbanded the National Security Councils pandemic unit in 2018. At the same time, the catastrophic impacts of coronavirus are a stark reminder that we should be thinking, planning and budgeting for multiple risks that lie on the horizon not only the threat of further pandemics, but the climate crisis and unchecked technological developments.

Humanitys response to the virus will clearly have long-term consequences that ripple into the decades ahead. Many governments may try to cling on to the emergency powers they have granted themselves such as heightened citizen surveillance leaving an authoritarian residue that undermines new democratic possibilities. On the other hand, the rupture that the pandemic has caused may open space for a fundamental rethink of our politics, economies and lifestyles. Just as pioneering long-term institutions such as welfare states and the World Health Organization emerged from the ashes of the Second World War, so too could coronavirus trigger the long-term thinking now needed to challenge the dangers of short-termism, and build resilience in the face of a very uncertain future.

By making wise and long choices at this time of crisis, we could well become the good ancestors that future generations deserve.

Oxford, March 2020