If there is one thing that characterizes the Australian philosopher and writer Roman Krznaric, it is his interest in the power of ideas to make change. In his latest book, “History for Tomorrow: Inspiration from the Past for the Future of Humanity”, he examines the last 1000 years of world history to uncover insights for addressing ten pressing issues in the 21st century. Climate change, hyperconsumerism, inequality, democracy, and the risks with AI and genetic engineering are among the topics. Krznaric highlights historical warnings but seeks out many positive examples of success as well. The book demonstrates how societies have repeatedly risen to the occasion, often against great odds, to confront and overcome challenges. And this is probably what the world needs to hear right now.

Lecture by Roman Krznaric.

Commentators: Ragnar Torvik and Thorgeir Kolshus

Moderator: Hilde Sandvik, journalist

Roman Krznaric is an Australian philosopher and author of eight books. His latest book History for Tomorrow: Inspiration from the Past for the Future of Humanity was released this summer and is translated into Norwegian: Historie for fremtiden: Inspirasjon fra fortiden for å løse vår tids utfordringer.

Ragnar Torvik is a professor of Economics at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and an adjunct professor at BI Norwegian Business School.

Thorgeir Kolshus is a professor of Social Anthropology. He is the Head of Department at the Department of Social Anthropology, University of Oslo

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