chaos THEORY

Fareed Zakaria is one of the world’s leading public intellectuals and the host of Fareed Zakaria GPS on CNN. In his new book, Ten Lessons For A Post-Pandemic World, he draws on his extensive experience as a journalist, media personality and academic to invent a set of principles that are likely to be crucial for success in the turbulent years ahead

- CHE KURRIEN

It is said that while history does not repeat, it rhymes. It is a case that Fareed Zakaria makes in his new book, Ten Lessons For A Post-Pandemic World. Drawing from a dazzling array of sources, from the historian Richard Hofstadter to psychologist Jonathan Haidt, from philosopher Aristotle to political scientist Hans Morgenthau – Zakaria gleans insight and wisdom from some of the world’s greatest thinkers across time to support his arguments, presenting them in a form that is both sophisticated and accessible. Zakaria writes in a pacy style and with an authoritative tone that never crosses over to supercilious. This book is also, unwittingly, a powerful promotion for a liberal arts education – which fosters critical thought processes that allow one to make connections between ostensibly disparate fields to arrive at a conclusion of one’s own. In other words, independent thinking – one of the key attributes needed to navigate a world in flux.

One of the central themes of your book is that everyone is connected, but no one is in control. What is your advice to best deal with constant change?