Stefan Thurner - The Bubble Society

We live in an age where we find ourselves confronted with seemingly insoluble problems, many of them stemming from humanity’s increasing alienation from nature and from ourselves. We cannot hold back this development with sustainability, factual knowledge and technological innovation alone. We are on the verge of a paradigm shift: regenerability. It is nature’s own processes and principles – from the tiniest cells to the biggest ecosystems – that serve as a model here. They are a testament to billions of years of evolution towards self-organised, resilient systems. Human beings, too, are a part of this process. Grassberger shows how a fundamental shift in values can regenerate human health, society and economics, allowing them to thrive long-term.

Globalisation and digitalisation have brought tremendous prosperity—and also polarisation, status anxiety and political anger. Right-wing populists from Trump to Weidel to Kickl have taken advantage of these profound shifts, offering simple answers instead of actual solutions. This book shows how globalisation and social media fuel populism, and why democratic parties have reacted so feebly. Still, crying about it won’t get us anywhere, so Fritz Jergitsch—social media expert and commentator on contemporary politics—outlines a new liberalism for the twenty-first century: one that ensures a fair share in progress, digital democracy and a clear commitment to freedom and the rule of law. A passionate argument for why our democracy needs a refresh.