This is a collection of essays that were published between 2014-2017。 There's also an interview from 2020 talking about the coronavirus， and a few other interviews， one which I was excited to find last year because it is the first time we can read about the author's personal life struggles （albeit very minimally） with technology and insomnia/disillusionment， as well as his professional life （his students find him depressing because he does not present solutions。）Only two new essays appear， "The This is a collection of essays that were published between 2014-2017。 There's also an interview from 2020 talking about the coronavirus， and a few other interviews， one which I was excited to find last year because it is the first time we can read about the author's personal life struggles （albeit very minimally） with technology and insomnia/disillusionment， as well as his professional life （his students find him depressing because he does not present solutions。）Only two new essays appear， "The End of Liberalism" and "Capitalism and the Death Drive"， but they don't contribute any new ideas or elaborations not already found in Byung-Chul Han's previous works， aside from the idea that the "death drive" is not in fact destructive - it is generative and necessary for life （life beyond survival）。 It is modern society's repression of death （the way we hide it or refuse to talk about it） that is responsible for our zombification。 The obsession with capital/material accumulation and the cult of health is a sickness which relies on death-negation。 In Ernest Becker's terms， they are "immortality projects。" Capitalism does not only exploit freedom to get as much possible performance out of us （and the least resistance from us）， it also exploits our fear of death。 Death is not only a biological end of life， but also a loss of identity。 The ability to lose oneself in the Other is becoming lost - leading to rampant narcissism and "the inferno of the Same"。 We are meant to die throughout our lives， as only dying-in-life constitutes a full life。 Without this constant death， consciousness remains the same， identities remain rigid， frozen。 Such "undead" people are fully exploitable until mental or physical collapse。As usual， there is not much practical advice here。 Byung-Chul Han's view is that there is no chance of a political revolution in the current climate， a revolution of consciousness would need to occur first， and it is this revolution that he concerns himself with。 He seems to be saying: live dangerously; do not be afraid of excess， of what has no utility。 Cultivate an awareness of death。 Contrary to Plato's ideal society， in his ideal society graves should be visible everywhere。 After reading his work， you might make it a habit to visit cemeteries more often。 。。。more