Truth
With the world getting deeper into the information era, keeping the truth away from the masses will be the greatest challenge facing humanity in the 21 st century. The most explosive and powerful claim in the book by Harari (2014) is the human civilization, which is the most powerful in the millions of years that life has existed has been based on lies. For any civilization that is based on lies, its greatest challenge is the truth. Among the monumental challenges that humanity will face in the 21 st century, therefore, is the truth. Harari argues that the ability to coordinate, work together, and pool resources is the basic foundation upon which a civilization predicated in Sapiens came into being. It was possible for other forms of life to come up with the powerful ideas that have made humanity so great. For example, some forms of bacteria have natural abilities to undertake genetic modification by assimilating capabilities of other species. The gradual transformation of bacteria to resist drugs reflects that some natural forms of life are in essence more intelligent and capable than humans. However, these organisms lacked the ability to plan ahead, coordinate, and pool resources.
It is, however, the ability to create a good lie and believe in it that enabled humans to establish a powerful civilization that has extended to this time according to Harari (2014). Among the fundamental lies that have driven humanity for millennia are gods, nations, money, and human rights. For example, the very early transition from the family unit-based community to a larger unit was predicated in the concept of god. Families joined together into communities and kept growing, based on the belief in, and to some extent, fear of gods. The fear of God was then used to forge nations and a sense of nationalism was created. Conversely, make the national foundation stronger, another lie was created in the form of money. As argued in Harari (2014), the concept of money is a powerful and empty lie, but one which humans have to rely on to survive. For example, a single piece of paper called a check can be worth enough food to feed millions of people for years. The final lie is that of human rights based on how humans are supposed to treat one another in a civilized community. The concept of human rights eliminated the natural concept of survival for the fittest upon which all life has evolved for tens of millions of years. If all humans realized that nationality is a lie, a modern civilization which is based on nations would begin to collapse. If the truth about money being a lie was then added to the matrix above so that true quid pro quo of barter trade was reintroduced, the slippery slope to the Stone Age would be complete. Finally, the realization that survival for the fittest is the natural order of life would erode the concept of human rights. Humanity would immediately turn upon itself and modern civilization would end. According to Harari (2014), therefore, the greatest challenge that humanity faces in the 21 st century us the truth.
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The Widening Gap between the Poor and the Rich
Yet another critical challenge facing humanity in the 21st century is the massive gap between the rich and the poor. During the cause of the 21st century, almost all the experiment of communism failed while, as outlined by Harari, capitalism thrived. In the course of the 21 st century, the monumental success of capitalism has continued in leaps and bounds. However, instead of everyone getting wealthier, the rich are getting richer while the poor get poorer. A good example is a country like India which is one of the richest nation in the world yet having hundreds of millions of dirt poor people. As the gap between the rich and the poor continues to escalate, there is a possibility that either a form of slavery will come back or there will be a popular revolution once again. Each of the possibilities above is bad for the world as they would either lead to human rights abuses or result in a collapse of the global economy. Based on the above another critical challenge of the 21 st century will be balancing between capitalism and seeking to maintain the balance between the rich and the poor.
Challenge in Climate Change
Yet another serious crisis borne out of the success and perhaps the excesses of capitalism is the problem of climate change. Harari (2014) argues that although climate change is a traditional phenomenon that has been going on for tens of millennia, it has never taken the scopes that are being seen in the current times. It is also worthy of notice that human activities have never taken the scope that they have in the current times. The discovery of mineral oil has resulted in massive riches all over the world. However, as the demand for energy continues to escalate, so does the consumption of mineral oil. The continued production of vast volumes of mineral oil has continued to erode the ozone layer thus exponentially altering the dynamics that control the climate. As Harari (2014) points out, the melting of the ice in the mountain tops is one of the major signs of climate change. The said visible changes are, however, only the tip of the iceberg. For example, if the ice in mountain tops is melting, then the ice in glaciers is also melting. A major meltdown of the glaciers near both poles would lead to a substantial rise in sea levels. Some islands would be submerged and many coastal areas would be uninhabitable. A major challenge in the 21 st century will thus be to satisfy the massive demand for energy while still trying to limit the effect of mineral oil usage on the global climate.
Rapid Population Growth
Population explosion is also a massive challenge in the 21 st century since an increase in population always exerts pressure on all manner of resources. According to Harari (2014), the global population stood at 500 million in the 16 th century, only 500 years ago, today it stands at 7 billion. Most importantly, the population had only increased to about 2 billion in the first segment of the 20 th century meaning that it tripled in the course of the 20 th century. If the same trends continued in the 21 st century which early indications cited by Harari (2014) show that it is, then a population of over 20 billion people may ensure in the later parts of the century. An increase in population will lead to an increase in the demand for food, shelter, energy and industrial production. Urbanization will also increase reducing forest cover and arable land. Whereas population increase is fundamental for the survival of any species, the rate of increase in human population might put so much pressure on the available resources that it may trigger the beginning of the end for the human species. A major challenge in the 21 st century will thus be seeking to limit population increase and also seeking to mitigate the damage caused by population increases.
Extinction
Another critical challenge that humanity faces in the 21 st century is the possibility of extinction both for the human species and perhaps another form of flora and fauna in the world. According to Harari (2014), 13.5 billion years ago, the Big Bang heralded the advent of matter, time and space, then 3.8 billion years ago, complex atoms began to form which would eventually lead to the advent of life. Harari then ventures into the concept of Neo-Darwinism to argue that for tens of millions of years after the formation of life, the concept of natural selection through survival for the fittest controlled how flora and fauna developed. A few thousand years ago, humans began to tinker with the process of natural selection for their own selfish interests. As argued by Harari (2014), the balance on nature in the world seems like a carefully tuned system. A good example is the system of the turbofan jet engine. All that it takes is a slight flaw then a cascade of reaction will eventually tear the engine apart. It is in the same way that tinkering with nature might eventually result in the mass extinction of species, including the human species.
Nuclear War
War is another monumental challenge that is bound to ravage the world in the 21 st century according to Harari (2014). War is not a new phenomenon to the world as indicated by Harari as it has been going on for millennia. Indeed, in 2014 as the instant book was being published, it was exactly a century after what had initially been called the Great War, before it was surpassed by an even greater war less than two decades later. The main reason that war will be a major challenge in the 21 st century as argued in Harari (2014) is because of atomic energy technology and the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Several countries in the world are involved in a nuclear arms race, a good example being the USA and Russia on the one hand and India and Pakistan on the other. In the two world wars of the 20 th century, nations did their worst to one another as they chased after the victory. According to Harari (2014), if the nations did their worst to one another in the 20 th century, a nuclear Armageddon would ensue. The nations of the world have developed massive and powerful weapons and highly effective delivery systems. As argued in Harari (2014), it only takes one full to start a war between nuclear powers such as India and Pakistan. The moment war begins, a cascade of events based inter alia on treaties will draw in other world powers, making a nuclear catastrophe a reality. Based on the many geopolitical hotspots in the world including the Pakistan-India border, the South China Sea and the Syrian crisis, preventing a global war is a great and ensuing crisis.
Technological Challenges: Genetic Engineering
Another massive challenge in the 21 st century according to Harari (2014) will be trying to regulate genetic engineering to alleviate the possible vagaries of the practice. Harari argues that the concept of genetic modification is not new but has been happening for thousands of years. For example, humans used selective breeding to create slower birds that were then domesticated for meat and eggs. The same process was used to domesticate erstwhile wild animals such as cows and goats. However, in the 20 th century, the process of selective breeding was taken over by genetic engineering where the DNA of an animal would be altered to remove or add some characteristics. Among the excesses cited in Harari (2014) include the growing of the ear of a large mammal on the back of a mouse. Some French engineers also designed and created a luminous green rabbit for a paying customer. Scarier prospects include the intention to create extinct species including the Neanderthal man and the Mammoth. Considering how much genetic engineering technology has improved in the first decade of the 21 st century, there is no telling how far it will go in the oncoming decades. Genetic engineers might begin creating a super-human species or a species that combines human DNA with those of other animals. The results will be humans who can run faster, box better, or have a larger brain capacity according to Harari (2014). However, tinkering with nature in such a way may have massive side-effects and vagaries whose adverse impact would be extremely damaging to the modern world.
Technological Challenges: Cyborgs
The regulation of cyborgs is yet another monumental challenge that will face humanity in the 21 st century as a new superhuman species might just be taking over the world according to Harari (2014). As opposed to genetic engineering, cyborg technology includes the combination of organic matter and machinery. The concept of cyborgs according to Harari (2014) may have been heralded by the need for prosthetics to assist humans who had been injured or were missing some limbs. The development of better mechanical technology has led to the creation of better and more advanced prosthetics and other gadgets that operate by being attached to the body. Harari admits that cyborg technology is still in its nascence but also indicates that it has grown rapidly in the last few years. If it adheres to the same process of growth, it will soon be possible to create humans who can control artificial hands and legs with their brains. Through computer technology, it is also possible for those limbs and other body parts to be able to operate on their own. The greater challenge is how far scientists will be willing to go the moment they perfect cyborg technology. It is mind-boggling to imagine what damage would be caused by rogue body organs of a child in a kindergarten or a few cyborgs in a football match. Cyborg technology will thus be a major challenge in the 21 st century.
Technological Challenges: New Forms of Life
The final possible challenge for humanity in the 21 st century addressed in Harari (2014) is the development of a new inorganic being that has the potential to take over the world. One of the most successful movie franchises in late 20 th century involved machines taking over the world. The idea was then advanced further in the 21 st film series dubbed the Matrix where computer software, not hardware had taken over the world. According to Harari (2014), the reality of computers taking over the world is based on the current advancement of concepts such as algorithm-based computer programs, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. Harari argues that it is the human mind that makes human being to be human, not the subtotal of their organs. The moment the human mind has been transferred into a computer, then another form of a human being has been formed, yet without the limitations that come with the human body. It would thus be right to conclude that the new software-based human is superior to the current form of human lives that has bodies. Harari then proceeds to argue that it is possible for the now superior being to attack the traditional or rather normal form of human life, colonize it, or even annihilate it. The scariest challenge for the 20 th century would be a combination of the above forms of technology and how they would impact the world. A good example is a body created through genetic engineering then enhanced through bionic technology and finally installed with software that gives it the mental independence of humans. The result would be a whole new world with humans being an inferior species.
Diversity Challenges
A final challenge for the 21 st century, albeit one that continues to reduce as opposed to almost all the other challenges outlined above, is the challenge caused by human diversity. The challenge of racism is still rearing its ugly head all over the world through the adversities it causes are continuing to diminish. However, Harari (2014) argues that the diminishing of the challenges caused by racial diversity is heralding a new challenge based on cultural diversity. Among the primary areas of cultural diversity that will be a major challenge in the 21 st century is religion. The advent of the 21 st century found a world where cultural tolerance was beginning to grow. However, the 2001 terror attacks happened followed by the war on terror that has never ended. Cultural differences based inter alia on religion have thus continued to grow and are going to be a major challenge in the 21 st century.
References
Harari, Y. N. (2014). Sapiens: A brief history of humankind . New York City, NY: Random House
