What is the main message of The Lonely Century?

In The Lonely Century , Noreena Hertz explores the global loneliness crisis and offers practical solutions for connection and community.

How long does it take to read The Lonely Century?

The estimated reading time for The Lonely Century is several hours. The Blinkist summary can be read in just 15 minutes.

Is The Lonely Century a good book? Is it worth reading?

The Lonely Century is a thought-provoking and insightful read. It provides a unique perspective on the impact of loneliness and offers potential ways to alleviate it.

Who is the author of The Lonely Century?

The author of The Lonely Century is Noreena Hertz.

The Lonely Century Summary of Key Ideas and Review

Name: The Lonely Century
Rating: 4.2 (167 reviews)
Author: Noreena Hertz

Introduction

What’s in it for me? Find out why this is the Lonely Century – and how we can reconnect.

Why are so many of us so lonely? Some might blame COVID-19, with its lockdowns, social distancing, and self-isolation. But the issue is bigger; loneliness has been a defining characteristic of the twenty-first century.

For decades, politicians have championed self-interest over the collective good. This, combined with mass migration to cities and our dependence on technology, has undermined our ability to connect with those around us. As a result, loneliness is damaging our health, wealth, and happiness.

These blinks explore the subjects that have shaped the Lonely Century, which range from social media addiction to the companionship of AI sex robots. Despite the doom and gloom, we’ll find that there’s still hope and discover the steps we can take to reconnect.

In these blinks, you’ll learn

what loneliness has to do with the rise of right-wing populism;
why some urban dwellers are watching others eat online; and
how small talk with your local barista can brighten your day.

Key idea 1 of 8

The Lonely Century has been fueled by neoliberal capitalism.

Most of us know what it’s like to feel lonely. But would loneliness ever drive you to commit a crime?

It may sound improbable, but consider Japan’s Tochigi prison. Over the last 20 years, the number of older prisoners there has quadrupled. Why? Well, elderly women, most over the age of 65, have been committing minor offenses in order to escape solitude for the company and care of fellow inmates.

But it’s not only the elderly who have been feeling more lonely. Across Europe, the United States, and Australia, the rate of loneliness among 15-year-olds has also been on the rise. And even before the coronavirus pandemic, one in five millennials claimed to have no friends at all.

It’s clear that the Lonely Century isn’t a generational problem. And the loneliness we’re experiencing isn’t just about feeling unheard or unseen by friends or family. It’s also about feeling unsupported by our employers, community, and government.

The key message here is: The Lonely Century has been fueled by neoliberal capitalism.

In the 1980s, Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan pushed forward a political project called neoliberal capitalism, or neoliberalism. It called for governments to minimize their interference in markets, as well as people’s personal affairs. The project also championed self-reliance, small government, and market competition. Communal values and the collective good were less of a priority.

Over the past four decades, neoliberalism has created an immense increase in wealth gaps. In 1989, American CEOs made 58 times more than an average worker. By 2018, this gap had grown nearly fivefold.

As a result, large parts of the population now feel left behind. The system has, by and large, corroded our ability to provide for our families or maintain our status in society. But poverty doesn’t only make us feel marginalized; it also puts us at a higher risk of loneliness.

Neoliberalism has literally affected how we relate to one another. Decades of hyper-competitiveness have shifted our collective values. For many, solidarity and kindness now play second fiddle to the pursuit of self-interest. This “every man for himself” attitude makes us less inclined to help the people in our community. As a result, more and more people are ending up feeling isolated.

Our new, super-individualistic neoliberal mindset is even reflected in pop songs. In 1977, David Bowie sang that “we could be heroes.” But in the twenty-first century, singers increasingly use first-person pronouns – just think of Kanye West’s “I am a God.”

Key idea 2 of 8

Loneliness causes illness and disease.

Butter, sugar, cream. These are staple ingredients in the diet of the Haredim – members of a strict Judaic community who make up about 12 percent of Israel’s population. Unsurprisingly, the Haredim are seven times more prone to obesity than their secular Israeli counterparts. They also earn far less than their neighbors; over 54 percent of the Haredim live below the poverty line.

One might assume, then, that their life expectancy would also be lower. But, in fact, the opposite is true. The Haredim have a longer life expectancy than their socioeconomic ranking suggests. Why? Experts believe it’s due to having a much tighter community. The Haredim pray, celebrate, and work together; they also offer each other childcare help, financial support, and just general advice.

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Key idea 3 of 8

Loneliness could be key to understanding right-wing movements.

When we think of Donald Trump’s supporters, “lonely” probably isn’t the first word that comes to mind. But in a 2016 poll, the Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy found that Trump supporters were less likely to have close friends or acquaintances than those who voted for Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton. Trump supporters were also less likely to ask their neighbors or community organizers for support when they needed help.

This loneliness isn’t a matter of party lines. If we compare Trump’s supporters with people who voted for his main Republican opponent, Ted Cruz, the difference is stark: Trump voters were twice as likely to report they “rarely or never” engaged with groups like parent-teacher organizations or sports teams.

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Key idea 4 of 8

The recent wave of urbanization is exacerbating global loneliness.

In 2019, the author met up with a woman named Brittany. As they walked around New York City’s NoHo neighborhood, the pair discussed the #MeToo movement and their favorite books. There was a deep sense of camaraderie.

Here’s the catch: the author had never met Brittany before! Instead, she’d agreed to pay a company called RentAFriend $40 an hour to have someone spend the afternoon with her. Brittany revealed that most of her clients were lonely professionals in their thirties to forties who didn’t have time to make friends – or invest the energy to keep them.

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Key idea 5 of 8

A contactless world feeds loneliness.

Say you walk into a grocery store and grab a packet of cookies. Everything looks normal – except instead of waiting in line for a cashier, you simply put the cookies in your purse and exit the shop. A computer records your purchase and automatically charges you.

If this seems like an improbable future, you’ll be surprised to learn that this store already exists. It’s called Amazon Go, and it’s one of the first convenience stores run by the e-commerce giant. In the upcoming years, Amazon has plans to open thousands of these stores worldwide.

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Key idea 6 of 8

Children are especially vulnerable to the dangers of excessive screen time.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re attached to your smartphone, you’re not alone. On average, we check our phones 221 times a day. Around half of teenagers spend the majority of their time online, and more than a third of us check our phones within the first five minutes of waking up.

It’s no coincidence that so many of us are glued to our screens. According to former Facebook president Sean Parker, the team behind the site consciously tried to make it as addictive as possible.

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Key idea 7 of 8

Social robots offer a potential remedy against loneliness.

Have you ever heard of a Roomba – a small, round robotic vacuum cleaner that endearingly bumps into surfaces or gets stuck under sofas?

For many Roomba owners, these robots have surpassed their functional purpose. In one study, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology gave Roombas to 30 households. Six months later, two-thirds of the vacuum cleaners had a name. And when Roomba manufacturer iRobot promised to replace broken appliances, there was an outcry. Customers didn’t want just any robot. They wanted their robot.

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Key idea 8 of 8

Coming together will require structural and personal changes.

The societies we live in are split along the lines of race, gender, and wealth – and the COVID-19 pandemic has only made these divisions clearer. Is there anything that governments can do? Well, there certainly is a precedent.

Following the Great Depression in the 1930s, President Franklin D. Roosevelt enacted the New Deal, a wide-ranging program of government spending and regulation. It aimed to bring reforms and relief to citizens who’d been hit the hardest.

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