This Could Be Our Future by Yancey Strickler

THIS COULD BE OUR FUTURE by Yancey Strickler, co-founder and former CEO of Kickstarter, is intended to be “A Manifesto for a More Generous World.”  As such, Strickler discusses how we have come to value financial maximization and how the solution is not to get rid of money, but to expand our concept of value. He argues that “our potential for a more generous, moral, or fair society is limited by the dominance of money as the be-all and end-all.” I know that students (and teachers) would be intrigued by this book, particularly those who are increasingly alarmed by our environmental situation, as well as the corruption and inequality that they perceive to be a result of our self-interest and materialistic lifestyle. As the publisher says, this book “is about how we got here [Part One], and how we change course [Part Two]. That later section is particularly fascinating, beginning with a brief overview of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and moving to an exploration of graphs of self-interest vs. time; a concept that Strickler refers to as Bentoism. He introduces several scenarios and looks at the values associated with quadrants corresponding to Now Me, Future Me, Now Us and Future Us. There is an appendix with suggested reading, a comprehensive set of notes, and a useful index. THIS COULD BE OUR FUTURE seems like a must read book with positive blurbs from thought leaders including Seth Godin, Adam Grant, Simon Sinek, and Daniel Pink.