The Lost Future: And How to Reclaim It

The book "The Future of Politics" argues that democracies are failing to prevent financial crises, energy shortages, climate change, and war due to their shortsightedness. Jan Zielonka proposes a new politics of time and space to address these issues and questions our everyday experiences as citizens. He suggests that authorities and firms should monitor our whereabouts, the distribution of time and space is unequal, and we can construct a new system of governance to plan ahead with certainty.

Format: Hardback
Length: 288 pages
Publication date: 24 January 2023
Publisher: Yale University Press

The future appears to be increasingly uncertain. Our democracies are failing to prevent financial crises, energy shortages, climate change, and war, so how can we look to the future with confidence? Jan Zielonka argues that democracy's shortsightedness makes politics stumble in our increasingly connected world. With our governments still confined to the borders of nation-states, defending the short-term interests of present-day voters, the consequences for future generations are dire. In this incisive account, Zielonka makes a bold case for a new politics of time and space. He considers how democracy should adjust to the world of high speed and questions our everyday experiences as citizens: Is it acceptable for authorities and firms to monitor our whereabouts? Why is the distribution of time and space so unequal? And, most crucially, can we construct a new system of governance that will allow us to plan ahead with certainty?

The future appears to be increasingly uncertain. Our democracies are failing to prevent financial crises, energy shortages, climate change, and war, so how can we look to the future with confidence? Jan Zielonka argues that democracy's shortsightedness makes politics stumble in our increasingly connected world. With our governments still confined to the borders of nation-states, defending the short-term interests of present-day voters, the consequences for future generations are dire. In this incisive account, Zielonka makes a bold case for a new politics of time and space. He considers how democracy should adjust to the world of high speed and questions our everyday experiences as citizens: Is it acceptable for authorities and firms to monitor our whereabouts? Why is the distribution of time and space so unequal? And, most crucially, can we construct a new system of governance that will allow us to plan ahead with certainty?

Dimension: 216 x 140 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780300262629