
José Dantas de SOUSA JUNIOR
Rev. Sem Aspas, Araraquara, v. 14, n. 00, e025015, 2025. e-ISSN: 2358-4238
DOI: 10.29373/sas.v14i00.19763 3
The world is still young: conversations on the near future with Maria Serena Palieri
In this dialogue between Masi and Palieri (2019), several lessons can be drawn,
beginning with the author’s assertion that our lives encompass two distinct realities
corresponding to two irrefutable certainties: first, that the world in which we live is certainly
not the best of all possible worlds; and second, that even so, it is the best world that has existed
to date. The author is likely referring, among other aspects, to the industrial and post-industrial
worlds. The former compelled people to live around factories and work, whereas the latter
allows for flexibility and leisure that should be meaningfully embraced. In addition, the text
advances the idea that humanity’s creative endeavor is only beginning its trajectory and that,
for the first time in history, it is up to us either to interrupt it or to allow it to continue. From the
outset, one can identify an underlying optimism, accompanied by a series of warnings issued
by Masi—an optimism grounded in reason. Thus, this thought-provoking text is divided into
ten sections that address issues related to work and progress. It concludes with a warning about
the risks of neo-fascism, the emergence of new threats from a dangerous far right, and the spread
of authoritarianisms worldwide.
The first chapter, entitled Disorientation and Project, offers an analysis of the
disorientation characteristic of our present time. For this sociologist, disorientation is closely
related to complexity, as we constantly alternate across all spheres of existence between phases
of reassuring security and unsettling phases of disorientation, such as those experienced in
markets and labor relations. It is not sufficient merely to understand mechanisms and systems;
rather, it is necessary to construct an ideal-typical model, a project that enables us to anticipate,
interpret, and act within this reality. For De Masi (2019), the absence of such a model leads
directly to disorientation. He identifies individuals’ disorientation in the face of technological
advancement, arguing that human beings are caught in a paradox: on the one hand, technology
expands access to knowledge resources; on the other, it generates insecurity regarding future
stages of technological progress, fostering uncertainty about what lies ahead for our world. Masi
(2019) emphasizes that we live amid constant challenges and questions who should be
responsible for developing a new model of life capable of guiding more sensible progress for
all.
The following chapter, Longevity and Old Age, analyzes the increase in life expectancy
alongside the challenges this development poses, arguing that the contemporary world is
nevertheless better than in previous eras. The subsequent chapter addresses Androgyny and
Genders, focusing on a series of challenges and inequalities that must be overcome in the future.