New forces break things, but can't replace them

The contest of new voices and old swirls in a stew of new complexity. Old structures of authority and legitimacy wobble. Tiny sub-tribes ("publics," here) emerge, seemingly from nowhere, temporarily and provisionally, often simply to hurl stones at the ostensible authorities, and to disband again. These centers of authority come from our recent past and are in all domains: business, bureaucracy, science.

For some, all these newly moving parts signal a need to cling ever tighter to their certitudes, their (sometimes) internally-consistent walled personal realities. On the web, one can find new comfort in far-flung kindred folks (for virtually any complex of beliefs), with a new bluster since one can bray all day and never stand face to face with opponents. These new structures are weak and provisional, mostly, and not capable of governing, says the author, speaking mostly from the vantage of 2014. But it follows from all this that some new champions would emerge and find some style under which to gather all these threads and anxieties into good old centralized political power. Enter Donald Trump. (Think: FDR or Hitler on radio in 1931.) But Trump too is just another moment in this evolution which, the author is modest enough to say, is too complex to predict. The author foresees nihilism but this is just one possible future or stage. I think it is too complex to call, to multifaceted to neatly model. For fairly recent history and its meaning (which is still plenty useful now), this book is a gem, with heaps of context for thinking about it all. The author is a fine, crisp writer and the narrator is effective.

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10 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

myopically biased projection

If you watch and read nothing but MSNBC and CNN you might enjoy this biased take on recent political events.

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Rant from crazy uncle ed

The author has some interesting insights about the role of increased information in undermining trust in authority, but he fundamentally seems to think this loss of trust is deserved. He thinks governments, for instance, promise more than they deliver, and rather than fixing the delivery, they should promise less.

This is a terribly biased analysis. Failure to deliver has many causes and only some of them are because of the impossibility of the task. One horse he beats on over and over again is the supposed failure of the 2009 economic stimulus in the United States under Obama. Contrary to his claims, most economists think the stimulus did work, but that it was about half the size it needed to be. They said this at the time it was enacted, so it’s not a revisionist interpretation of events. He draws the conclusion that Obama attempted a task that was impossible, which is absurd. The role of government spending on economic activity is well-understood; it was the politics that crippled it.

The author criticizes many of the actors in the political arena as being nihilists, but the author is just as much a nihilist as they are when he disparages the capability of governments of doing great things.

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great analysis of current politics

great analysis of current politics, but the narrator was a bit monotone and boring.

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great observations of the current times we are liv

extremely observational and informative. very objective writing allowing me to form my own opinions and changes along the way

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Incredibly tedious

I can’t believe Silicon Valley people are so obsessed with this book, it’s just further proof they don’t understand anything about how government works. What a total drag.

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Very interesting theory, some leaps taken

Enjoyed the premise. Thought provoking.
Definitely has examples with some leaps in logic not all supported, but still worth the read! The book offers some interesting explanations for some of the chaos we are seeing during this period of transition due to the Digital and Information Revolution.

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Fascinating book

Provided valuable insight into today’s politics - at home and abroad. Impact on digitally empowered population explained.

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A sobering take on contemporary society

It seems there's no way out of our devolving political reality. But through Gurri's thoughtful analysis, I have new hope there's a way forward.

I personally didn't love the narration, but the content is so worthwhile it still gets 5 stars.

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I really struggled with the narration on this one.

interesting ideas and ways of analyzing things that are happening in our modern world. I struggled a bit with the narration, this might be a personal mismatch rather than a efficiency in the narrator:) It may be worth listening to a sample before you buy.

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