End States - Benjamin Wallace - Bog

In End States Wallace explores the necessity of nonconformism and 'Difference' in sustaining vibrant and inclusive societies. Taking examples from as far afield as the Bedouin nomads of Arabia and the Seasteading technophiles of Silicon Valley, he colorfully illustrates how our identity and aspirations are nurtured through exploration, and access to new people and ideas. The 'manifesto' demonstrates how our empathy and identity are suppressed by societies that impose arbitrary borders, and shows how materialistic ideologies and mass media across the world narrow our aspirations, prevent us from realising who we want to be, and creating systems where the vitality of change is resisted, and human happiness marginalised. Difference is life. Strange, then, that as societies grow they often seek to impose an order and uniformity that restricts what is unusual and new.