Human Frontiers

We're at a curious juncture of history. New inventions, a digital revolution, a colossal output of cultural production, and a sophisticated global economy catering to our every need have changed our lives in an incredibly short space of time. From quantum biology, nanotechnology and pictures of black holes, to nudge unit governance, blockchain and virtual worlds, the sheer scale of progress over the last 300 years is mind-boggling. Surely this is a uniquely fecund moment for humanity?

And yet a growing body of evidence suggests that big ideas have, over the last forty or fifty years, become much harder. After half a century we have not been back to the Moon; we haven't cured cancer; life expectancy has stalled in some countries; we're still addicted to carbon-based energy.

In The Future of Big Ideas, Michael Bhaskar makes sense of this mixed picture to offer a sketch of what comes next. Drawing on the latest cutting-edge research from economics, business analysis, cultural theory and the history of science and technology, Bhaskar shows how important new ideas are getting much harder to find, and how the nature of world-changing ideas - however we might find them - will shape humanity's next steps.