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1-Page Summary of Abundance

Overview

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We might think that the world is about to collapse. We ask ourselves, ”How long will it be before our society collapses under the strain of climate change, overpopulation and dwindling resources?” Surely it’s just a matter of time? Abundance argues otherwise. Society is on the cusp of a bright future filled with innovation in business, technology and economics. The book identifies what those changes are and how they’ll transform societies across the globe for the better.

Did you know that the computing power of a laptop is almost as powerful as that of the human brain? Or how access to the internet in developing countries can help children get an education? Or how genetically engineered algae could solve our energy crisis? These technological and social innovations will make our society better. They’ll move us away from dangers we face today and towards a bright, optimistic future.

Big Idea #1: Our brains are designed in a way that makes us overly worried about the future.

It’s hard not to think about the future and realize that there are many dangers ahead, such as war, terrorism, climate change, economic crises and food shortages. Many people don’t consider these threats when they’re thinking about their futures because it seems crazy. However, there are underlying influences that push us towards a pessimistic view of the future. The first is our brains’ architecture—the amygdala in particular—which is always on alert for danger and triggers fight-or-flight responses when we see something dangerous around us. This reaction was helpful thousands of years ago when immediate dangers were common but isn’t so useful now since most threats tend to be more remote or probabilistic (e.g., the economy could nose dive).

The second has to do with the kind of information we receive. Media outlets are aware that positive news doesn’t elicit a strong reaction as threatening news, so they report on it more often than not. This is why we’re constantly bombarded with fearful images and scenarios, feeding our fight-or-flight response and preventing us from viewing the future objectively.

But if we look at the statistics, we would see that the industrialized world is safer. We are living longer, wealthier, healthier lives with more access to goods and services than before.

Just as people in the past could not fathom how technology would affect their lives, we also cannot see what the future will bring.

The future is brighter than we think it is.

Big Idea #2: The interconnectedness of many problems in the world means they can be solved together.

The world has complex systems that are interconnected. Changes in one area can affect other areas, and these changes can lead to positive results. For example, if we make progress in one area, it will improve the situation in other areas as well.

The global population is growing at an alarming rate, which makes it difficult to sustain the limited resources we have. Currently there are seven billion people on Earth and that number is projected to grow to nine billion by 2050.

This situation is even more complicated when we consider that if healthcare improves in developing nations, there will be a greater increase in population. However, it would be far too simplistic to stop there.

Although there is a correlation between birth and mortality rates, improvements in healthcare would actually slow population growth. We can see this when we look at Morocco’s experience. When the country made strides in health care, education, and women’s rights, it led to lower birth rates. In fact, improved health outcomes are more likely to slow population growth than increased life expectancy because Africa and Asia will have much of the projected population growth over the next 50 years.