Ian McEwan’s *What We Can Know*: A Climate Crisis Vision for 2119 England Urging Adaptive Ethics and Innovation

A Fragmented Future: Ian McEwan’s “What We Can Know” and the Reckoning with Nostalgia

Ian McEwan’s forthcoming novel, What We Can Know, arrives at a moment of deep uncertainty for global business, technology, and policy leaders—a moment when the very frameworks that have underpinned modernity feel increasingly precarious. Set in the year 2119, McEwan’s vision of England is not the familiar green-and-pleasant land of the past, but a splintered archipelago. This future, marked by climate disaster and geopolitical upheaval, is less a flight of speculative imagination than an incisive meditation on the perils of clinging to outdated ideals.

The Allure—and Peril—of Memory in a Disrupted World

At the heart of McEwan’s narrative is Tom Metcalfe, a figure whose longing for a bygone era mirrors a broader societal impulse: the desire to anchor oneself in the certainties of the past when the present feels unmoored. Tom’s obsession with a lost 2014 poem, “A Corona for Vivien,” is not merely a literary device but a powerful metaphor for our collective crisis of memory. The poem, born of pandemic and environmental anxiety, encapsulates the tension between remembrance and reinvention—a tension that resonates far beyond the novel’s pages.

For business and technology leaders, this motif serves as a potent warning. The temptation to frame strategy and policy through the lens of nostalgia—whether for stable markets, predictable geopolitics, or the myth of perpetual progress—can blind organizations to the profound disruptions now shaping the global landscape. McEwan’s fictional England, fragmented and adrift, is a stark reminder that institutions and economies built on the sands of memory may prove dangerously brittle when the tides of change arrive.

Shifting Power, Shifting Markets: The New Geopolitical Reality

McEwan’s speculative future is defined by a radical inversion of global power. The United States, once the unchallenged hegemon, is depicted as a nation fractured by chaos and ruled by warlords. In its place, Nigeria emerges as a dominant force—a scenario that, while starkly fictional, invites serious reflection on how environmental and political crises can reorder the global hierarchy.

For the technology and business sectors, this is more than a narrative flourish. The novel’s world, shaped by climate catastrophe and institutional collapse, prompts urgent questions about market resilience, regulatory adaptation, and the ethical allocation of responsibility. As climate change accelerates, traditional centers of power may falter, while new players—often from regions previously marginalized—could seize the initiative through innovation in renewable energy, decentralized governance, and digital infrastructure.

This speculative shift is not without precedent. Recent years have witnessed emerging markets leveraging technology to leapfrog legacy systems, and global supply chains have shown both fragility and adaptability in the face of disruption. McEwan’s vision amplifies these trends, suggesting that the next century’s winners will be those who embrace complexity, agility, and ethical innovation, rather than those who cling to the faded certainties of the past.

Generational Tensions and the Ethics of Progress

One of the novel’s most resonant themes is the generational divide in perceptions of crisis and responsibility. Tom’s reverence for the past is met with skepticism by his students, who view the early 21st century as an era of ignorance and unsustainable practices. This dialogue is not merely a literary device—it echoes real-world debates between established liberal orthodoxies and emergent, forward-looking paradigms.

For leaders in business and technology, this tension underscores the necessity of adaptive ethical frameworks. The rapid evolution of artificial intelligence, the decentralization of decision-making, and the push for climate accountability all demand a willingness to question inherited assumptions. McEwan’s narrative suggests that the future belongs not to those who memorialize the past, but to those who can synthesize memory with innovation, forging new paths through uncertainty.

Beyond Nostalgia: Reimagining Governance and Responsibility

What We Can Know is more than a dystopian warning; it is a challenge to rethink the foundations of governance, technology, and economic policy. As McEwan’s England grapples with the consequences of environmental neglect and political inertia, the novel asks whether nostalgia for lost certainties can ever provide a roadmap for the future.

For today’s business and technology communities, the message is clear: resilience and relevance in the 21st century will require not only technical ingenuity but also a willingness to confront uncomfortable truths. The future, McEwan reminds us, is not a restoration of what was, but an uncharted territory demanding courage, creativity, and a new ethical vision.