The Good Ancestor: How to Think Long Term in a Short-Term World
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- Create Date：2021-03-22 18:36:38
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Roman Krznaric
- ISBN：0753554518
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Summary
'This is the book our children's children will thank us for reading' – The Edge， U2
How can we be good ancestors？
From the first seeds sown thousands of years ago， to the construction of the cities we still inhabit， to the scientific discoveries that have ensured our survival， we are the inheritors of countless gifts from the past。 Today， in an age driven by the tyranny of the now， with 24/7 news， the latest tweet， and the buy-now button commanding our attention， we rarely stop to consider how our actions will affect future generations。 With such frenetic short-termism at the root of contemporary crises， the call for long-term thinking grows every day – but what is it， has it ever worked， and can we even do it？
In The Good Ancestor， leading public philosopher Roman Krznaric argues that there is still hope。 From the pyramids to the NHS， humankind has always had the innate ability to plan for posterity and take action that will resonate for decades， centuries， even millennia to come。 If we want to become good ancestors， now is the time to recover and enrich this imaginative skill。
The Good Ancestor reveals six profound ways in which we can all learn to think long-term， exploring how we can reawaken oft-neglected but uniquely human talents like ‘cathedral thinking’ that expand our time horizons and sharpen our foresight。 Drawing on radical solutions from around the world， Krznaric celebrates the innovators who are reinventing democracy， culture and economics so that we all have the chance to become good ancestors and create a better tomorrow。
How can we be good ancestors？
From the first seeds sown thousands of years ago， to the construction of the cities we still inhabit， to the scientific discoveries that have ensured our survival， we are the inheritors of countless gifts from the past。 Today， in an age driven by the tyranny of the now， with 24/7 news， the latest tweet， and the buy-now button commanding our attention， we rarely stop to consider how our actions will affect future generations。 With such frenetic short-termism at the root of contemporary crises， the call for long-term thinking grows every day – but what is it， has it ever worked， and can we even do it？
In The Good Ancestor， leading public philosopher Roman Krznaric argues that there is still hope。 From the pyramids to the NHS， humankind has always had the innate ability to plan for posterity and take action that will resonate for decades， centuries， even millennia to come。 If we want to become good ancestors， now is the time to recover and enrich this imaginative skill。
The Good Ancestor reveals six profound ways in which we can all learn to think long-term， exploring how we can reawaken oft-neglected but uniquely human talents like ‘cathedral thinking’ that expand our time horizons and sharpen our foresight。 Drawing on radical solutions from around the world， Krznaric celebrates the innovators who are reinventing democracy， culture and economics so that we all have the chance to become good ancestors and create a better tomorrow。
Reviews
Chris
，
-----3/21/21—Recomendo recommended this book。 Sounds like I might fight it interesting and it seems like a worthwhile topic to read up on。 Glancing at top reviews led me to The Precipice， by Ord， which also sounded good。 One reviewer also mentioned Doughnut Economics by the author's wife （Raworth）， so that's going on the TBR today too。 Someday maybe I'll grow up and actually start reading all these edifying books。 -----3/21/21—Recomendo recommended this book。 Sounds like I might fight it interesting and it seems like a worthwhile topic to read up on。 Glancing at top reviews led me to The Precipice， by Ord， which also sounded good。 One reviewer also mentioned Doughnut Economics by the author's wife （Raworth）， so that's going on the TBR today too。 Someday maybe I'll grow up and actually start reading all these edifying books。 。。。more
Adriaan Jansen
，
''We do not inherit the land from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children'' – Apache saying， page 69。''Facebook is Pavlov， and we're the dogs'' – page 44。In The Good Ancestor， Roman Krznaric invites to show empathy， not only to our fellow human beings who are living now， but also， importantly， to our fellow humans who are not yet born。 The tool he offers to help us be more empathetic to future generations is Long Term Thinking。 If we free ourselves from our almost constant focus on the her ''We do not inherit the land from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children'' – Apache saying， page 69。''Facebook is Pavlov， and we're the dogs'' – page 44。In The Good Ancestor， Roman Krznaric invites to show empathy， not only to our fellow human beings who are living now， but also， importantly， to our fellow humans who are not yet born。 The tool he offers to help us be more empathetic to future generations is Long Term Thinking。 If we free ourselves from our almost constant focus on the here and now and start to practice Long Term Thinking， then most of us are likely to acquire a moral awareness that stretches over time and to feel an obligation to pass on a world ''that is fit for the flourishing of life'' （p69）。 Long Term Thinking can help us to commit to Sustainable Development : ''development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs'' （a definition that has been around since 1987， when Norwegian prime minister Gro Harlem Brundtland proposed it to the United Nations， page 78）。Krznaric describes 6 ways to Long Term Thinking:- Deep-Time Humility: Grasp that we are an eye-blink in cosmic time- Legacy Mindset: Be remembered well by posterity- Intergenerational Justice: Consider the 7th generation- Cathedral Thinking: Plan projects beyond a human lifetime- Holistic Forecasting: Envision multiple pathways for civilization- Transcendent Goal: Strive for one-planet thrivingKrznaric argues that there is urgency in adopting these 6 ways of Long Term Thinking and that we immediately need to start caring more about sustainable development， since ''time is running out for us to leave a legacy of which we can be proud''。 To quote Johan Rockström， ''We are the first generation to know that we face unprecedented global environmental risks， but at the same time we are the last generation with a significant chance to do something about it'' （page 63）。 This gives us a great responsibility: we have a moral imperative towards future generations to hand over a healthy planet where life can thrive。 The Good Ancestor is a welcome and good book。 Krznaric's 6 ways of Long Term Thinking and some of his suggestions that accompany them， can give us not only a framework for thinking about the future， but also， and more importantly， help us gain a clearer moral perspective and a wider vision。Even though I enjoyed the book， I also have some criticism。First， I am missing a positive appreciation for the role technological development and innovation can play in creating a better future。 I get the feeling that Krznaric sees technological development in an unfavorable light。 Just an example of the bad press technological innovation seems to get in this book: When I looked for technology in the index， I found this: ''Technological developments， risks of''， and then a long list of page numbers。 Can future technology save us from all that will or could go wrong and should we therefore just continue to live as we do and destroy our natural environment？ Of course not。 But some people sometimes give the impression that we have to choose between technology and sustainability， between innovation and cutting back consumption。 I never understand that choice。 Instead of choosing， why not do both？ Krznaric describes a hopeful energy revolution based on solar panels in Bangladesh， but nowhere in the book it is mentioned how such revolutions can be supported and accelerated by new technology。 Therefore， also not discussed is how we can foment such positive technological development。Second， is it really new what Krznaric is saying？ For sure， his ideas about Long Term Thinking are a welcome contribution to the tool-set for achieving sustainable development， and his book deserves to be read for that。 But besides that， there was a lot that most people who are interested in leaving the world a better place for future generations already know。 Some examples: - The chapter on regenerative economy borrows heavily from ''Doughnut Economics''， written by Krznaric's wife Kate Raworth and published 4 years ago （I am writing this in March 2021）。 Having read his wife's book， this entire chapter was more a pleasant refresher than a source of new insights- Krznaric describes the circular economy and calls it one of the four innovative practices that can help with the transition to a Ecological Civilization。 I fully agree， but as far as I know， ideas about the circular economy have been around for almost 2 decades （the ''Cradle to Cradle book'' was published in 2002） so calling it ''innovative'' was a bit of a stretch for me。 OK， whether something is innovative or not can be a matter of personal interpretation。 More importantly， this book didn't provide many new ideas for the circular economy。- Similarly， B Corps （Benefit Corporations） have been around for more than a decade， and this book doesn't give much new information about them。My conclusion: The Good Ancestor is a good book， that probably would be a great book if this your first book about sustainability。 Or to say this differently: It would have been a great book if it had been published 5 or 10 years ago。 。。。more
William Snow
，
A book on a brilliant topic， with brilliant potential， that ultimately fell short of really impressing。 The Good Ancestor is a treatise on long-term thinking， sustainability， and environmental stewardship that could have really been a knockout if it had been better executed， but instead， the author found himself one of the masses of try-hards who throw a bunch of anecdotes and quips （a few even verging into self-helpy） together and call it a cohesive and proven argument。 My favorite argument tha A book on a brilliant topic， with brilliant potential， that ultimately fell short of really impressing。 The Good Ancestor is a treatise on long-term thinking， sustainability， and environmental stewardship that could have really been a knockout if it had been better executed， but instead， the author found himself one of the masses of try-hards who throw a bunch of anecdotes and quips （a few even verging into self-helpy） together and call it a cohesive and proven argument。 My favorite argument that Krznaric does use well is that we are not looking after future generations near enough， and we have no right to such neglect。 We should find more ways as a society， as an economy， as a government to institutionalize Future Issues in our lifestyles and decision-making processes （see Iceland and New Zealand as good examples of this）。 In many ways， we are colonizing the future， even enslaving future generations， by tying them to the ball and chain of climate change and exploitative capitalism。 It's not just an ecological issue -- it's civil rights for future people， too。 There were some other really great passages in the book。 In particular， the sections on legacies and on building a regenerative economy and an ecological civilization were brilliant （though the latter was tarnished slightly by the fact that the author relied somewhat on academic work produced by his wife）。 But I found myself too annoyed by other passages （the Cathedral Thinking chapter， for which I had higher hopes） and other things （the atrocious concept of 'Marshmallow brain' and 'Acorn brain'） to find great pleasure in the book as a whole。 If for no other reason， though， I'm glad I read it because it made me a better person with an increased interest in sustainability -- whose urgency could barely be greater。 I will doubtless be reading more books on sustainability， regenerative economies， and environmental stewardship moving forward， and I would be deeply grateful for any recommendations to that end。 This was worth the read， but I'm certain there are better ones out there！ 。。。more
Luciana Sari
，
This book can be our guide to be the good ancestor: to pass the good legacy and thriving planet for the future generations to live in by training ourselves to think long-term。 Furthermore， this book is an important wake-up call for the acute influx of temporal imagination， narrow perspective， and short-term thinking that lead to the economic inequality and ecological destruction of our time。 The author elaborately explained the drivers of short-termism such as the tyranny of the clock， digital d This book can be our guide to be the good ancestor: to pass the good legacy and thriving planet for the future generations to live in by training ourselves to think long-term。 Furthermore， this book is an important wake-up call for the acute influx of temporal imagination， narrow perspective， and short-term thinking that lead to the economic inequality and ecological destruction of our time。 The author elaborately explained the drivers of short-termism such as the tyranny of the clock， digital distraction， political presentism， speculative capitalism， networked uncertainty， and perpetual progress and provided the ways to challenge these drivers， including to train ourselves to have deep-time humility， legacy mindset， sense of intergenerational justice， cathedral thinking， holistic forecasting， and transcendent goal （read the book for the detailed explanation of each point）。 One of the most important points and key takeaways for me is about how our brains are wired for both short-and long-term thinking， or as the author called it the marshmallow brain and the acorn brain: that we are more than capable of stretching our minds into distant horizons but now our horizons are rapidly shrinking toward a narrow window of seconds， hours， and days。 Another important point is the moral imperatives for intergenerational justice where he made a compelling assertion that any policies taken in our time without regarding the future generation mean that we are colonizing the future， where he invited the reader to broaden the scope of "demos" to include the future generation。 "We are the inheritors of gifts from the past，" and we can pass the gifts for the future。 。。。more
Susan
，
It had good information but it was too long， and dense/academic。 I think I would enjoy an "abridged" version of this book more。 I didn't read the last parts very thoroughly - I just wanted to be finished with it。 It had good information but it was too long， and dense/academic。 I think I would enjoy an "abridged" version of this book more。 I didn't read the last parts very thoroughly - I just wanted to be finished with it。 。。。more
Wayne Woodman
，
It is a well written book that is difficult to read because it keeps probing my conscience and I keep asking myself what am I doing to be a good Ancestor。 I have to work on this going forward because I don't think I have been a good Ancestor thus far in my life because I have been caught in the now。 I thought this was a good place to be， not worried about the Future or concerned about the Past just enjoying the Present。 It is a well written book that is difficult to read because it keeps probing my conscience and I keep asking myself what am I doing to be a good Ancestor。 I have to work on this going forward because I don't think I have been a good Ancestor thus far in my life because I have been caught in the now。 I thought this was a good place to be， not worried about the Future or concerned about the Past just enjoying the Present。 。。。more
Ryan
，
A well-put-together introduction to and amalgamation of core long-term thinking and sustainability ideas。 If you have regularly followed those topics for the past decade-ish， you likely won’t find much new in this book。 If you’re closer to the start of your journey into these ideas， I’d highly recommend this book be among the first you read。 The ideas the book touches on aren’t covered with much depth， so anything that is of further interest will require additional reading on the topic。 The brea A well-put-together introduction to and amalgamation of core long-term thinking and sustainability ideas。 If you have regularly followed those topics for the past decade-ish， you likely won’t find much new in this book。 If you’re closer to the start of your journey into these ideas， I’d highly recommend this book be among the first you read。 The ideas the book touches on aren’t covered with much depth， so anything that is of further interest will require additional reading on the topic。 The breadth of ideas covered and the pseudo-directory it can serve as to connect you to other thinkers and authors is definitely worth your time。 I also appreciated the author’s candidness and “realist” approach to the struggle these ideas face to take hold and become SOPs， especially on the extremely short timeline of further climate chaos。 。。。more
Celeste
，
This book lacked a strong call to action for me。 Still， solid literature review and tying together of different real life examples together。 The heuristics of cathedral-thinking and reminders that humans can make plans and think long terms compared to animal counterparts were very useful for me。I think the frameworks in this book can be tied into a workshop and presented at Davos （or Singapore this year）。 It's really up the alley of business/ political leaders or MBA candidates who preach about This book lacked a strong call to action for me。 Still， solid literature review and tying together of different real life examples together。 The heuristics of cathedral-thinking and reminders that humans can make plans and think long terms compared to animal counterparts were very useful for me。I think the frameworks in this book can be tied into a workshop and presented at Davos （or Singapore this year）。 It's really up the alley of business/ political leaders or MBA candidates who preach about sustainable development and caring for future generations， but still fly around during Covid without quarantining themselves and putting others at risk。 。。。more
Theresa Blackman
，
This is the most enlightening， humbling， inspiring， & harrowing book I’ve ever read。 10/10 recommend。 But read it over several weeks （and temper it with something lighter）。
Alexa Trasca
，
A book that challenges the short-termism of today - the culture of consumerism， the inherently myopic political system， the short-sightedness of the capitalist world。 The author draws attention to how we can adopt a long-term thinking instead and urges us to do so。 A highly important read that raises one's awareness about the future which our descendants will inhabit。 A book that challenges the short-termism of today - the culture of consumerism， the inherently myopic political system， the short-sightedness of the capitalist world。 The author draws attention to how we can adopt a long-term thinking instead and urges us to do so。 A highly important read that raises one's awareness about the future which our descendants will inhabit。 。。。more
Jake
，
A thoughtful perspective on the lack of thinking about the future impact we could all have now as we operate in our world today。
Wallis Greenslade
，
An absolute must read - an essential framework for thinking beyond the human lifetime time scale towards a just and equitable future for all
Josh Lloyd-Jones
，
One of the most genuinely thought provoking books I’ve ever read。
Fin Moorhouse
，
Nicely eclectic but a little dewy-eyed for my taste。 Also strangely pessimistic about human ingenuity for a book about longtermism: lots of emphasis on degrowth， resource depletion， and all-round belt-tightening and sobriety。 There is such a thing as too much progress apparently！Talk of new technology is surprisingly thin too， and near-zero interest in weirder ideas like space colonisation or transhumanism。 Also， possibly misleading to describe the Limits to Growth report as prophetic and fail t Nicely eclectic but a little dewy-eyed for my taste。 Also strangely pessimistic about human ingenuity for a book about longtermism: lots of emphasis on degrowth， resource depletion， and all-round belt-tightening and sobriety。 There is such a thing as too much progress apparently！Talk of new technology is surprisingly thin too， and near-zero interest in weirder ideas like space colonisation or transhumanism。 Also， possibly misleading to describe the Limits to Growth report as prophetic and fail to mention anything it got wrong。On the other hand: so many delightful examples of longtermist projects in art and politics， and some lovely new metaphors and framings for ideas in sore need of them。 And very glad to have learned about Joseph Bazalgette — what a legend！ 。。。more
Sue
，
This is a wonderful companion book to Kate Raworth's Doughnut Economics， and I was delighted to find out that she and Roman Krznaric are married！Both books are accessible， engaging， and prescriptive。 Raworth and Krznaric show us how and where we've gone wrong in our politics， economics， and cultures in the past， and how those mistakes created the many crises we now face。 Most importantly， they offer detailed and inspiring solutions to the problems we face， and lay out a road map for creating glo This is a wonderful companion book to Kate Raworth's Doughnut Economics， and I was delighted to find out that she and Roman Krznaric are married！Both books are accessible， engaging， and prescriptive。 Raworth and Krznaric show us how and where we've gone wrong in our politics， economics， and cultures in the past， and how those mistakes created the many crises we now face。 Most importantly， they offer detailed and inspiring solutions to the problems we face， and lay out a road map for creating global communities and economies that work in service to life and health， provide value for what we value， allow everyone to thrive on a healthy planet， and strive to leave a robust， regenerative， and sustainable Earth for generations to come。 。。。more
Saud Amin Khan
，
There could have been clearer policy recommendations。。。more practical solutions to supplement the vision and philosophical approach shared by the author。Still， it's quite an amazing read。 Made me re-think my position on certain matters and has certainly enhanced my worldview。 There could have been clearer policy recommendations。。。more practical solutions to supplement the vision and philosophical approach shared by the author。Still， it's quite an amazing read。 Made me re-think my position on certain matters and has certainly enhanced my worldview。 。。。more
Christoph Monschein
，
urgently needed call to action
Tyler Christensen
，
A thought-provoking introduction to an underrepresented subject matter， but to me it somehow seemed simultaneously long overdue and ahead of its time。 Sustainable long-term thinking is an underexplored field， but I found the treatment of the subject in this book to be shallow and speculative at best。 That said， the author did a great job citing concrete science as much as possible， so there was still a lot to gather。
Hayley Dunning
，
Well argued， if anything over-structured。
Wim
，
Wonderful inspiring book on how we can counter the short-term tendencies in our society and become time rebels by adopting various innovative principles and put them into practice through collective action。This book is probably for readers who are already convinced of the need for a radical rupture away from our current destructive consumer culture towards a thriving humanity in balance with the earth， and it focuses on how to achieve this by bringing more long term perspectives into our politic Wonderful inspiring book on how we can counter the short-term tendencies in our society and become time rebels by adopting various innovative principles and put them into practice through collective action。This book is probably for readers who are already convinced of the need for a radical rupture away from our current destructive consumer culture towards a thriving humanity in balance with the earth， and it focuses on how to achieve this by bringing more long term perspectives into our politics， economies and societies as a whole。 。。。more
Ken
，
Don't get me wrong; these types of books that recognize the importance of ensuring the health and security of our world in not only several years in the future but several centuries for that matter are essential。 The problem is we apply a contemporary measurement to such prognostications。 We know humans to be an eminently rational and irrational species so how sure are we that our presentism is so infallible？ If a similar attempt at being good ancestors were to be made is， say， 1860 Great Britai Don't get me wrong; these types of books that recognize the importance of ensuring the health and security of our world in not only several years in the future but several centuries for that matter are essential。 The problem is we apply a contemporary measurement to such prognostications。 We know humans to be an eminently rational and irrational species so how sure are we that our presentism is so infallible？ If a similar attempt at being good ancestors were to be made is， say， 1860 Great Britain it's likely that in a hundred years there would still be a British viceroy in India and colonialism imperialism would still be seen as essential。 Let's not forget what Kant said of our species， ‘Out of such crooked timber as that from which man is made， nothing entirely straight can be crafted。’ 。。。more
Kit
，
Thought this was pretty great in the round。 A thorough exploration of why we need to disengage our marshmallow brain and participate in some serious sewage thinking - Joseph Bazalgette style。The third section is particularly strong - the perils of forecasting what kind of work we might inhabit in the future， and the importance of deep democracy。 Citizens assemblies particularly well dealt with。 My only ideological reservation/beef with Krznaric is his relative agnotisticism toward utilising some Thought this was pretty great in the round。 A thorough exploration of why we need to disengage our marshmallow brain and participate in some serious sewage thinking - Joseph Bazalgette style。The third section is particularly strong - the perils of forecasting what kind of work we might inhabit in the future， and the importance of deep democracy。 Citizens assemblies particularly well dealt with。 My only ideological reservation/beef with Krznaric is his relative agnotisticism toward utilising some kind of gaia/mother earth religion which seems to me quite appalling and plays directly into the hands of those who would paint those who care about the environment as fatalistic zealots。 。。。more
Stephen Tummon
，
Should be mandatory reading
Lance McNeill
，
A goal we should all strive forBeing a good ancestor should be one of our highest callings in life - focusing us on doing today what will help the future。
Rupert
，
Makes you think in a completely different way
Lisa of Hopewell
，
I learned of this book here: https://bookishbeck。wordpress。com/202。。。 I learned of this book here: https://bookishbeck。wordpress。com/202。。。 。。。more
Rhys Lindmark
，
Roman gives a good overview of the reasons to think long-term， and how。 Not groundbreaking if you're already interested in x-risk， EA， etc。 But still quite a strong distillation of memes and examples of long-term thinking。 Roman gives a good overview of the reasons to think long-term， and how。 Not groundbreaking if you're already interested in x-risk， EA， etc。 But still quite a strong distillation of memes and examples of long-term thinking。 。。。more
Teo 2050
，
2020。10。06–2020。10。12ContentsKrznaric R （2020） （07:51） Good Ancestor， The - How to Think Long Term in a Short Term WorldAbout the AuthorPrefacePart I: The Tug of War for Time01。 How Can We Be Good Ancestors？02。 The Marshmallow and the Acorn: Inside Our Time-Torn BrainsPart II: Six Ways to Think Long03。 Deep-Time Humility: Humankind as an Eyeblink in Cosmic History04。 Legacy Mindset: How Can We Be Remembered Well？05。 Intergenerational Justice: Reasons to Respect the Seventh Generation06。 Cathedra 2020。10。06–2020。10。12ContentsKrznaric R （2020） （07:51） Good Ancestor， The - How to Think Long Term in a Short Term WorldAbout the AuthorPrefacePart I: The Tug of War for Time01。 How Can We Be Good Ancestors？02。 The Marshmallow and the Acorn: Inside Our Time-Torn BrainsPart II: Six Ways to Think Long03。 Deep-Time Humility: Humankind as an Eyeblink in Cosmic History04。 Legacy Mindset: How Can We Be Remembered Well？05。 Intergenerational Justice: Reasons to Respect the Seventh Generation06。 Cathedral Thinking: The Art of Planning into the Distant Future07。 Holistic Forecasting: Long-Term Pathways for Civilisation08。 Transcendent Goal: A Lodestar to Guide HumanityPart III: Bring On the Time Rebellion09。 Deep Democracy: Is There an Antidote for Political Myopia？10。 Ecological Civilisation: From Speculative Capitalism to Regenerative Economy11。 Cultural Evolution: Storytelling， Design and the Rise of Virtual Futures12。 The Path of the Good AncestorAppendix: The Intergenerational Solidarity IndexAcknowledgmentsEndnotesList of IllustrationsBibliographyIndex 。。。more
Daryl Feehely
，
This book offers a structured plan to jump-start the reader out of the existential dread of the climate crisis and into working to become a good ancestor。 The author offers hope over optimism， the prospect of success despite the odds versus looking on the brightside despite the evidence。 Long term thinking is the goal and well described in these pages are the steps needed and methodologies to adopt in order to move away from short-termism。 Doing so will allow us to thrive within the means of the This book offers a structured plan to jump-start the reader out of the existential dread of the climate crisis and into working to become a good ancestor。 The author offers hope over optimism， the prospect of success despite the odds versus looking on the brightside despite the evidence。 Long term thinking is the goal and well described in these pages are the steps needed and methodologies to adopt in order to move away from short-termism。 Doing so will allow us to thrive within the means of the planet， rather than destroying it。 。。。more
Hope P
，