Complexity: Liberty vs Power

We live in a sea of unpredictable complexity.

Every one of us is a unique individual in the vast network of human civilization. We each have our own individual wants, passions, needs, and challenges. We each also face the constant challenge of the unknown.

With modern technology, mankind has never been more connected or had more opportunities. Never before have we had greater access to ideas, content, audiences, or marketplaces.

At the same time, we are constantly bombarded with messages of anxiety and concern about the future of complex systems like the economy, the climate, or the fate of humanity.

This bipolar dynamic of today’s complex world is reflected in studies that show that younger generations are both more optimistic and more fearful about the future than those who came before them. In this series, we will focus on complexity and the role of individuals in the intricate networks that make up mankind.

How do we confidently make decisions in the face of the unknown? What is itself knowable about the future? How has mankind overcome these challenges in the past so civilization can flourish? What are the lies we are told that can demoralize us? How can we combat it so that we can flourish as individuals?

These questions have deep relevance to modern life but are themselves as old as civilization itself. At their core are fundamental questions about the dynamics of liberty and order, freedom and control, human thriving, and human despair.

Understanding complex systems can help us better understand many of the greatest challenges that drive many of the greatest concerns young people have today, from economic concerns about the affordability of owning a house, taking control of our health, to better understanding the sort of future you will inherit.

Understanding complexity also helps us better understand many of the very real problems that younger generations will inherit and what can be done to make a better world for us all.

We are all just individuals in a vast and complex network. But more significant than individuals are the ideas that shape the organization of institutions that make up that network.

We do not have to face the future alone. We have the wisdom and guidance of those who came before us at our fingertips. We can choose to be empowered in the face of the challenges that we face, not victims of our circumstances.

Each of us has a role to play in building a better future for all.