Yogendra Yadav wites: In 21st century, we need to be saved from 20th-century ideas meant to save us

In the 21st century, we are confronted with ideas from the 20th century that were intended to guide us, but have now become obsolete and harmful. Alexis de Tocqueville observed a similar situation two centuries ago, noting that people were wandering in obscurity as the past no longer illuminated the future. We find ourselves between two worlds: one that is decaying and another that has yet to emerge.

Despite our attempts to apply the ideas of Western modernity to our lives, it has become outdated and stales. Democracy, once a revolutionary concept, has now transformed into a standardized template of liberal democracy, where self-rule is limited to a few privileged individuals. Similarly, the nation-state, a construct of human desire for belonging, has often led to exclusive belonging rather than true inclusivity.

The pursuit of development, a dream from the 20th century, has resulted in uneven prosperity and ecological destruction. The regime of science, which aims to provide objective knowledge, has fractured human understanding into specialized domains and led to the rise of commodified and fundamentalist religious beliefs. To address these issues, we must identify five basic elements of human nature: self-rule, belonging, well-being, truth, and happiness.

By reimagining our institutions around these core values, we can create a more equitable and sustainable future.