The Toolbox

An Age of Flux

In 2012, the Atlantic Ocean swallowed the roller coaster at Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, NJ.

Photo by Julie Dermansky

“The real problem of humanity is the following: we have paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions, and god‐like technology.”

E. O. Wilson¹

“We are relying on nineteenth century institutions using twentieth century tools to address twenty‐first century problems.”

Ann Mei Chang²

Life in a plastic hour

In 1862, a Dutch ophthalmologist accidentally burdened the year 2020 with significance. Herman Snellen’s scale set “20/20” as “normal” sight. Over time, those four digits leaked into other realms of life. “2020” came to evoke a sense of visual—even strategic or moral—clarity. Countless executives sought to capitalize on that association by writing strategy documents with names like “Vision 2020.” (I was as guilty as any.)

In retrospect, 2020 now feels like a pivot moment away from clarity. The COVID‐19 pandemic shook an already unstable world. Slowly building crises of climate, democracy, and inequality all seemed to explode at once.

Later in this chapter I will argue that we are in a “plastic hour” (perhaps even a plastic century), a time when change is more possible. But to change the world, you must first see it as it is. So, let us set our toolbox down on the ground of reality. Below is a whirlwind tour of our early‐21st‐century ...