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Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
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The Next Crisis summary
Danny Dorling
What We Think About the Future
20 mins
Brief summary
The Next Crisis examines impending global uncertainties, highlighting the social and economic factors contributing to potential upheavals. Danny Dorling provides insights into preparedness and resilience, urging proactive engagement to address these looming challenges effectively.
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The Next Crisis
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Our obsession with crisis shapes our worldview
People today talk about crises more than ever, yet the actual frequency of disasters or catastrophic events hasn’t increased. So why do we feel continually overwhelmed? Part of the answer lies in our improved living standards: ironically, when we’re less directly threatened by daily survival, we have more time to worry about potential future problems.
But this doesn’t fully explain the rise in anxiety. Since around the 1960s, the word “crisis” has steadily appeared more often in books and media. What once referred to rare and urgent turning points is now used to describe everything from politics and housing to health and the environment. This broadening of the term doesn’t reflect more emergencies, but a shift in how we frame challenges. Much of this is reinforced by a rapidly growing and competitive media environment, where dramatic language grabs attention and fuels a constant sense of alarm.
Surveys show what really occupies people’s minds, and the results often differ from expert forecasts. For example, in 2022, specialists at the World Economic Forum predicted the biggest threats would include energy crises, food shortages, and cyber-attacks. Yet many people were more immediately worried about the rising cost of living, inequality, and personal safety. This gap highlights a crucial disconnect: experts often focus on issues they see as threatening the global order or markets, while everyday citizens are concerned with immediate problems that impact their daily lives and futures.
Interestingly, concerns are not static. Take the COVID-19 pandemic, which dominated global worries in early 2020 but sharply declined as vaccines arrived. This shift demonstrates how quickly public anxiety can change. It also underscores the importance of paying close attention to ordinary people’s perspectives, rather than letting elite anxieties dictate what counts as a crisis. Understanding this helps us navigate our collective fears better, moving us beyond generalized anxiety toward clearer, shared solutions. And as you’ll soon see, this approach matters deeply in confronting what actually concerns most of us – the ever-rising costs of everyday life.
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What is The Next Crisis about?
The Next Crisis (2025) analyzes global polling data to reveal what people around the world worry about each month and contrasts these concerns with prevailing media and policy narratives. It shows how everyday pressures – such as cost of living, employment, immigration, distant wars, corruption, and climate change – shape public sentiment and often diverge from expert projections. It argues for aligning policy priorities with the real anxieties of citizens rather than overemphasizing unlikely threats.
Who should read The Next Crisis?
- Concerned policymakers shaping responsive social agendas
- Insightful journalists analyzing global public sentiment trends
- Anyone interested in societal anxieties worldwide
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