Book Talk: The Great Questions of Tomorrow

The planet is in a deep moment of transformation. What are the fundamental questions we should be asking?

By , a former editor of Foreign Policy and CEO of The FP Group.
On this episode of The E.R., Max Boot joins us to discuss his new book "The Road Not Taken."
On this episode of The E.R., Max Boot joins us to discuss his new book "The Road Not Taken."
On this episode of The E.R., Max Boot joins us to discuss his new book "The Road Not Taken."

On this week’s second episode of The E.R., David Rothkopf sits down with the Financial Times’s chief U.S. commentator and columnist, Ed Luce, to discuss his latest book, The Great Questions of Tomorrow, just released on April 18. In his book, Rothkopf focuses on the questions we as individuals and as a society must ask ourselves in order to navigate the implications of revolutionary technological advances. In asking these questions — what is war in an era of cyber warfare, what is currency in the face of digitization, and what is the purpose of society as a whole — he forces us to take a step back from the daily headlines and refocus our attention on these existential matters.

On this week’s second episode of The E.R., David Rothkopf sits down with the Financial Times’s chief U.S. commentator and columnist, Ed Luce, to discuss his latest book, The Great Questions of Tomorrow, just released on April 18. In his book, Rothkopf focuses on the questions we as individuals and as a society must ask ourselves in order to navigate the implications of revolutionary technological advances. In asking these questions — what is war in an era of cyber warfare, what is currency in the face of digitization, and what is the purpose of society as a whole — he forces us to take a step back from the daily headlines and refocus our attention on these existential matters.

Rothkopf argues that history is better off when you think these questions through in advance, rather than react to them when it’s too late, and that the greater the changes we face as a society, the more fundamental questions we must ask of ourselves. Because by facing these unsteady times head on, there is more hope for opportunity and optimism.

Ed Luce is the Financial Times’s chief U.S. commentator and columnist based in Washington, D.C. He is also the author of the forthcoming book, The Retreat of Western Liberalism, out June 13. Follow him on Twitter at: @EdwardGLuce.

David Rothkopf is the CEO and editor of the FP Group. He is also the author of The Great Questions of Tomorrow, just released on April 18. Follow him on Twitter at: @djrothkopf.

Tune in, now twice a week, to FP’s The E.R.

Subscribe to The E.R. and Global Thinkers podcasts on iTunes.

More from Foreign Policy

Palestinians start to return to their homes amid destruction after Israel’s withdrawal in Khan Younis, Gaza.
Palestinians start to return to their homes amid destruction after Israel’s withdrawal in Khan Younis, Gaza.

Israel Is Facing an Iraq-like Quagmire

Six months in, there’s still no plan for after the war, U.S. officials say.

Instructors from the Norwegian Home Guard 12th District Company “Hegra” participate in a blank-fire exercise, together with Ukrainian soldiers, north of Trondheim, Norway.
Instructors from the Norwegian Home Guard 12th District Company “Hegra” participate in a blank-fire exercise, together with Ukrainian soldiers, north of Trondheim, Norway.

NATO Doesn’t Have Enough Troops

For the first time in decades, NATO has a plan to fight Russia. Now it just needs the forces to do it.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, U.S. President Joe Biden, and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak hold a press conference after a trilateral meeting during an AUKUS summit in San Diego.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, U.S. President Joe Biden, and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak hold a press conference after a trilateral meeting during an AUKUS summit in San Diego.

Biden’s ‘Coalitions of the Willing’ Foreign-Policy Doctrine

The latest flurry of U.S. diplomacy shows how the president is all about “minilateralism.”

A photo illustration shows a crowd of people filling the face of India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
A photo illustration shows a crowd of people filling the face of India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The New Idea of India

Narendra Modi’s reign is producing a less liberal but more assured nation.