In this urgent talk, political scientist Heni Ozi Cukier analyzes the social, economic, political and military conditions that preceded the last two world wars, revealing how historical patterns and today’s geopolitical shifts may be pointing us in a dangerously familiar direction. Connecting past and present, he challenges us to recognize the warning signs — and act before it’s too late.For a chance to give your own TED Talk, fill out the Idea Search Application: ted.com/ideasearch.Interested in learning more about upcoming TED events? Follow these links:TEDNext: ted.com/futureyouTEDSports: ted.com/sportsTEDAI Vienna: ted.com/ai-viennaTEDAI San Francisco: ted.com/ai-sf Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Full Episode
You're listening to TED Talks Daily, where we bring you new ideas to spark your curiosity every day. I'm your host, Elise Hu. A question that petrifies me, and I'm assuming everyone listening, is the world on the brink of World War III?
In this talk, political scientist Hemi Azikukie digs into the four major dimensions of war to uncover patterns of global dynamics and growing instability that led to World Wars I and II. Through this lens of history, he shares a powerful and scary reflection on the present moment and a warning to not repeat the mistakes of the past.
History has taught us many lessons, and we should pay attention to its signs because we might be heading towards World War III. One way to understand today's events is to look for clues from the past. But cherry picking historical events to forecast the future is a risky exercise that it oftentimes only reinforces our biases. So I want to do something different.
Instead of comparing historical examples with what is happening now, I will examine four major dimensions of life, the social, economic, political, and military dimensions. And I will analyze key trends within each one of those dimensions in three critical moments in history, before World War I, before World War II, and today. Let's begin with the social dimension.
And there are many factors that shape societies, but I want to focus on how technological innovations have produced social anxieties and destabilized societies throughout history. Before World War I, the Second Industrial Revolution was transforming life with electricity, cars, phones, mass production and more. While many celebrated these advances, they also disrupted societies.
For instance, machines replaced workers and new farming techniques uprooted populations from the countryside. This led to insecurity and resentment. At the same time, traditional authorities, such as churches and monarchies, they were questioned at that time. And new mass movements, they emerged, such as labor unions and nationalist leagues.
People were afraid that progress was shaking the very foundation of societies. Moving a little bit ahead in the interwar years before World War II, technology continued to affect life. The word robot was even coined in 1921 and it symbolizes fears of possibly machines substituting human jobs.
At the same time, or a little bit later, the famous economist John Maynard Keynes warns us in 1930 of a new disease, namely technological unemployment. During this period, we had communications revolutions that completely changed public discourse. So this media became powerful tools for propaganda, polarizing politics, and amplifying social fears.
Traditionalists at that time, they were worried that modern culture was simply eroding tradition, family, and religion. Today, we are going through a technological revolution driven by AI, digital media and social platforms. The internet, smartphones, and social media have transformed the way we work, communicate, and even think.
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