Move: The Forces Uprooting Us

Khanna (The Future Is Asian), founder of the management consulting firm FutureMap, speculates in this diffuse account on how the coronavirus pandemic, climate change, aging populations, political turmoil, and economic disruptions will affect human migration. He argues that the free movement of people across borders is an integral part of human social life and an economic boon to countries, despite the recent resurgence of populist protectionism, and that human migration will only increase in the coming years. Khanna also contends that generational identities have overtaken national consciousness, especially among young people, and predicts that climate change will make “climate-resilient zones” such as the U.S. Rust Belt and Alaska more desirable, while severe water shortages and a collapsing economy will push Egypt to the brink of collapse. Unfortunately, Khanna’s frequent use of anecdotal evidence (he cites an “arthouse film” as proof of Italy’s increasing acceptance of immigrants) and technocratic optimism (“We may have lost our sixth sense, but we can use our technologically assisted autoimmune fight-or-flight instinct to run inland and upland from nature’s wrath”) fail to convince, and the book’s choppy structure makes it difficult to follow his central argument. This fitful road map to the future gets lost in speculation. Agent: Jennifer Joel, ICM Partners. (Oct.)