It's fair to say that while the left is generally focused in the future and the world to come,

the right has had its eyes fixed on the past.

This can manifest itself as nostalgia with no basis in historic reality or simply a refusal

to accept things have changed.

Yet it also signifies a veneration for things which do seem important to the human condition,

a sense of continuity between generations are shared inheritance we all enjoy, and ideas

of meaning and worth which transcend the span of a single lifetime.

It's easy to succumb to convenient binaries with calls for people to get with the times

or equally to not fetishize the new and confuse what is novel for what is important.

But what is the right way to think about progressive commitments is to accept the importance

of both, what if acting in meaningful solidarity with others should not only extend to those

around us in the present, our family, friends, colleagues and fellow humans, but those in

the future too, the unborn generations to come.

If images of the future are indeed the most powerful socialising agent in Western culture

which certainly seems correct, then should such images also include an understanding of

how we will be remembered.

And is it only with that in mind that we can be truly moral agents and solve the great

challenges of the 21st century?

That's the hypothesis of Roman Krasnirik, author of The Good Ancestor, a radical prescription

for long-term thinking.

Before we go any further with this conversation, I'd like to draw the attention of our audience

to the ongoing Navaramedia fundraiser.

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