The Good Ancestor

A Radical Prescription for Long-Term Thinking

By: Roman Krznaric

Narrated by: Joe Jameson

A call to save ourselves and our planet by targeting the root of our inaction: extreme short-sightedness

“The most important question we must ask ourselves is: Are we being good ancestors?” So said Jonas Salk, who cured polio in 1953. Salk saved millions of lives, but he refused to patent his cure or make any money from it. His radical rethinking of what we owe future generations should be an inspiration to us all, but it has hardly taken hold: Businesses can barely see past the next quarter; politicians can’t see past the next election.

Markets spike, then they crash in speculative bubbles. We rarely stop to consider whether we’re being good ancestors...but the future depends on it.\

Here, leading public intellectual, philosopher, and best-selling author Roman Krznaric explains six practical ways we can retrain our brains to save our future - such as adopting Deep Time Humility (recognizing our lives as a cosmic eyeblink) and Cathedral Thinking (starting projects that will take more than one lifetime to complete). His aim is to inspire a “time rebellion” - to shift our allegiance from our generation only to all humanity, present and future.

©2020 Roman Krznaric (P)2020 Blackstone Publishing

genial !!

lectura obligada para todas las generaciones actuales y venideras, en aulas y long term learners.

Great Book

I loved this book and it gave me great insight, but the narrator bored me. That makes a huge difference in reading audiobooks.

Essential reading for a world we'd all want to be

It will take something for us to shift our focus from "For me, today" to "For them, tomorrow". This book might just help you shift that thinking for at least yourself, and who knows what you might come up with if that were to happen. Remember your grandparents? Did they lead their lives in a way that made yours better? And your grandchildren? Let's start to think that way, it won't feel natural for most of us, but if we don't, then our grandchildren may curse us. That is not how I wish to be remembered.

Our future selves cherished in the here now

An opportunity to learn how to write your epitaph, how to ensure the actions and behaviors of your daily life are immortalized positively and constructively by all who come after you. Take this book as your call to action. Reflect on your place in building a sustainable existence for all creatures great and small. Open your mind and heart, as this book serves as an excellent reference and playbook. And once you read it, pass it on!

Excellent

The book starts a little slow, but then becomes extremely good. I thought it was thoughtful and very helpful.