Ten Lessons for a Post-Pandemic World

From the international bestselling author of The Post-American World 
 
'An intelligent, learned and judicious guide for a world already in the making' The New York Times 
 
Since the end of the Cold War, the world has been shaken to its core three times. 11 September 2001, the financial collapse of 2008 and - most of all - Covid-19. Each was an asymmetric threat, set in motion by something seemingly small, and different from anything the world had experienced before. Lenin is supposed to have said, 'There are decades when nothing happens and weeks when decades happen.' This is one of those times when history has sped up. 
 
In this urgent and timely book, Fareed Zakaria, one of the 'top ten global thinkers of the last decade' (Foreign Policy), foresees the nature of a post-pandemic world: the political, social, technological and economic consequences that may take years to unfold. In ten surprising, hopeful 'lessons', he writes about the acceleration of natural and biological risks, the obsolescence of the old political categories of right and left, the rise of 'digital life', the future of globalization and an emerging world order split between the United States and China. He invites us to think about how we are truly social animals with community embedded in our nature, and, above all, the degree to which nothing is written - the future is truly in our own hands. 
 
Ten Lessons for a Post-Pandemic World speaks to past, present and future, and will become an enduring reflection on life in the early twenty-first century.

It is an intelligent, learned and judicious guide for a world already in the making.

Fareed Zakaria hosts CNN's flagship international affairs show, Fareed Zakaria GPS, which airs across the world to 220 million households. He writes a weekly column for the Washington Post, which reaches between 80-100 million readers every month. He is the author of The Future of Freedom (2003), The Post-American World (2008) and Ten Lessons for a Post-Pandemic World (2020),

Since the end of the Cold War, the world has been shaken to its core three times. 11 September 2001, the financial collapse of 2008 and - most of all - Covid-19. Each was an asymmetric threat, set in motion by something seemingly small, and different from anything the world had experienced before. Lenin is supposed to have said, 'There are decades when nothing happens and weeks when decades happen.' This is one of those times when history has sped up. 
 
In this urgent and timely book, Fareed Zakaria, one of the 'top ten global thinkers of the last decade' (Foreign Policy), foresees the nature of a post-pandemic world: the political, social, technological and economic consequences that may take years to unfold. In ten surprising, hopeful 'lessons', he writes about the acceleration of natural and biological risks, the obsolescence of the old political categories of right and left, the rise of 'digital life', the future of globalization and an emerging world order split between the United States and China. 
 
Ten Lessons for a Post-Pandemic World speaks to past, present and future, and will become an enduring reflection on life in the early twenty-first century.

And The Rise Of The Rest

The Post-American World

'Thought provoking and important ... read Zakaria to know what has, should and will happen' Observer 
 
The growth of countries such as India, China, Brazil, Russia, South Africa and Kenya is generating a new landscape. The tallest buildings, biggest dams, highest-grossing movies and most advanced mobile phones are now all being made outside Europe and the United States. Countries that previously lacked polotical confidence and national pride are finding them. 
 
Is this an opportunity, or a threat? Fareed Zakaria's acclaimed bestseller, now expanded with a new afterword and throroughly updated throughout, has been heralded as the most thought-provoking book yet on our uncertain times. With lucidity, insight and imagination, he shows how the West must transform its global strategy, moving from a position of hegemony to one that recognizes this seismic power shift.

Thought provoking and important ... read Zakaria to know what has, should and will happen

Zakaria's writing is clear and strong ... The Post-American World cites a dazzling array of anecdotes, incidents, quotations and statistics

A relentlessly intelligent book that eschews simple-minded projections

A thoughtful, reasoned and hopeful sketch of global power and politics in the twenty-first century

Fareed Zakaria is host of CNN's flagship international affairs program (Fareed Zakaria GPS), Editor-at-Large of TIME, a Washington Post columnist and a New York Times bestselling author. He was described in 1999 by Esquire as 'the most influential foreign policy advisor of his generation'. In 2010, Foreign Policy named him as one of the Top 100 global thinkers. He lives in New York City.

The growth of countries such as India, China, Brazil, Russia, South Africa and Kenya is generating a new landscape. The tallest buildings, biggest dams, highest-grossing movies and most advanced mobile phones are now all being made outside Europe and the United States. Countries that previously lacked polotical confidence and national pride are finding them. 
 
Is this an opportunity, or a threat? Fareed Zakaria's acclaimed bestseller, now expanded with a new afterword and throroughly updated throughout, has been heralded as the most thought-provoking book yet on our uncertain times. With lucidity, insight and imagination, he shows how the West must transform its global strategy, moving from a position of hegemony to one that recognizes this seismic power shift.

Fareed Zakaria

This is the indispensable book for understanding the world today. Fareed Zakaria tackles the central question of our age: What are the causes of the seismic social disruptions we are going through and the political backlashes that have ensued? Connecting five centuries of history to a deep understanding of our current anxieties, he shows how transformations in technology, economics, and politics interact. We are living through one of the most revolutionary ages in history, and the resulting disruptions have led to a clash between those who celebrate progress, open markets, and technology versus those who resist them. Zakaria argues that we must infuse our journey forward with moral meaning and restore a sense of pride in the ideals of freedom, individual rights, and democracy. The result is both a fascinating look at history and an inspiring vision for the future

Powerful ... Zakaria’s book will help readers feel honoured and grateful that we get to be part of this glorious and ongoing liberal journey. He understands that we liberals can’t just offer economic benefits; we also have to make the spiritual and civic case for our way of life

Breathtakingly ambitious ... Age of Revolutions successfully bridges the divide between the general reader and the academic. It is an easy read that offers fresh perspective. That is no mean feat

Zakaria believes that we can and do make progress. But he is wary of the assumption that history tends to move in the direction of ever-greater human flourishing ... Zakaria’s book represents an attempt to distinguish between revolutions that have inspired thermostatic reactions and revolutions that have endured

Progress and Backlash from 1600 to the Present

Fareed Zakaria first warned of the threat of “illiberal democracy” two decades ago. In Age of Revolutions: Progress and Backlash from 1600 to the Present, he sets our era of populist chaos into the sweep of history. 
 
Based on deep research and conversations with world leaders from Emmanuel Macron to Lee Kuan Yew, this book tells the story of progress and backlash, of the rise of classical liberalism and of the many periods of rage and counter-revolution that followed seismic change. From the Dutch Republic – the first modern republic, techno-superpower, and haven for liberalism almost snuffed out by force – and the French Revolution to the Industrial Revolution in Britain and the United States, it traces the rise of the world’s modern superpowers, the birth of the political divides we know today, and the ways in which technology unsettled society and caused backlash from those who felt threatened by this new world. Zakaria also details the revolutions that have convulsed our times: globalization in overdrive, digital transformation, the rise of identity politics, the return of great power politics with a vengeful Russia and an ascendant China, and the democratic decay at home which threatens the very foundations of the world built by the Enlightenment. 
 
The book warns us that liberalism’s great strength has been freeing people from arbitrary constraints – but its great weakness has been leaving individuals isolated, a void that can all too easily be filled by tribalism, populism, and identity politics. Today’s revolutions in technology and culture can even leave people so adrift that they turn against modernity itself.

Age of Revolutions

About us

About Us (Header 4)

Best-Jane-Austen-quotes_Online-Desktop_Penguin

James-Baldwin

Marian-Keyes

haruki-murakami-320×320-1

Richard-Osman

Malorie Blackman

Lisa-Jewell

Charlie-Mackesy

Authors (Header 3)

Children&#039;s

Company

Discover

Fiction

Non-fiction

Penguin Classics

Penguin Shop (Header 5)

Useful links

Work with us

sectionTitle

isEnabled

anchor

anchorLabel

prhuk/featured-book

prhuk/praise-section

maxBooks

showViewMore

prhuk/books-section

hideAuthorAlert

formName

iterableDivision

iterableBrand

buttonText

description

heading

legalText

successHeading

successText

image

alignment

variation

prhuk/email-section

prhuk/series-section

prhuk/biography-section

prhuk/articles-section

prhuk-authors

The perfect gift? A Penguin Shop gift card

Fareed Zakaria

Praise for Age of Revolutions

This is the indispensable book for understanding the world today. Fareed Zakaria tackles the central question of our age: What are the causes of the seismic social disruptions we are going through and the pol ...

Powerful ... Zakaria’s book will help readers feel honoured and grateful that we get to be part of this glorious and ongoing liberal journey. He understands that we liberals can’t just offer economic benefits; we al ...

Breathtakingly ambitious ... Age of Revolutions successfully bridges the divide between the general reader and the academic. It is an easy read that offers fresh perspective. That is no mean feat

This is the indispensable book for understanding the world today. Fareed Zakaria tackles the central question of our age: What are the causes of the seismic social disruptions we are going through and the pol ...

Powerful ... Zakaria’s book will help readers feel honoured and grateful that we get to be part of this glorious and ongoing liberal journey. He understands that we liberals can’t just offer economic benefits; we al ...

Breathtakingly ambitious ... Age of Revolutions successfully bridges the divide between the general reader and the academic. It is an easy read that offers fresh perspective. That is no mean feat

This is the indispensable book for understanding the world today. Fareed Zakaria tackles the central question of our age: What are the causes of the seismic social disruptions we are going through and the pol ...

Powerful ... Zakaria’s book will help readers feel honoured and grateful that we get to be part of this glorious and ongoing liberal journey. He understands that we liberals can’t just offer economic benefits; we al ...

Breathtakingly ambitious ... Age of Revolutions successfully bridges the divide between the general reader and the academic. It is an easy read that offers fresh perspective. That is no mean feat

Books by Fareed Zakaria

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter