‘The future hasn’t happened yet. The idea that our civilisation is doomed is not established fact. It is a story we tell ourselves.’
In the 1980s, we gave up on the future. When we look ahead now, we imagine economic collapse, environmental disaster and the zombie apocalypse. But what if we are wrong? What if this bleak outlook is a generational quirk that afflicted those raised in the twentieth century, but which is already beginning to pass? What if we do have a future after all?
John Higgs takes us on a journey past the technological hype and headlines to discover why we shouldn’t trust the predictions of science fiction, why nature is not as helpless as we assume and why purpose can never be automated. In the process, we will come to a better understanding of what lies ahead and how, despite everything – despite all the horrors and instability we face – we can build a better future.
“A magnificent book – you should read all of it”
Rufus Hound
“Brilliant, incisive and superbly written with humour, humanity and an intellectual honesty rarely found these days, The Future Starts Here is the best book I’ve read this year. An antidote to the dis-ease and cynicism we are surrounded by, and a hymn to the future. A must read.”
Lord Victor Adebowale
“Get your mind round this book and move into the new decade informed and fortified by its excellent conclusions. Highly recommended.”
Mike Scott, The Waterboys
The Future Starts Here is available from Bookshop.org – which helps support independent bookshops and authors (affiliate link). Also available as an ebook and paperback from Hive | Waterstones | Amazon UK and your local independent bookshop.
An audiobook version read by the author is available from Audible. A sample of the audiobook is available on Soundcloud: