Naomi Alderman discusses the writing process behind her latest novel, ‘The Future’, following the success of ‘The Power’

We always forget the truth about power. Every generation has learned that it is not the individual, not the office, but power that ultimately irreparably corrupts and distorts even the best characters with the best intentions. I need to be reminded of this again.

I thought about this a lot when writing the novel. future. I've always been interested in writing about power. Most of my books are about how power systems change us and how we change power systems. future It is by far the most powerful individuals on the planet today: those of us who operate, for the most part, without tax or government constraints, without term limits, and who are the “citizens” of their online spheres. We're talking about tech billionaires who operate without having to answer to anything. How did they get there? Why is it so difficult to live outside the infrastructure they have created? And how has it turned them into such centers of power?

There was one book that made a big difference in my way of thinking.

In 1974, Robert Caro published a unique and extraordinary book. power broker. This lifted the lid on Robert Moses, the great builder of New York City's infrastructure (roads, bridges, parks, tunnels, public buildings). Those who knew him personally knew him to be a tyrant and a bully. His plans had long since ceased to make sense except as a means to gain more power.

power broker The book is 1100 pages long, but it is so engaging and engaging that I wish it had a few hundred more pages. This work shows that Moses started out as an idealist. At the start of his career, this is a man who aspired to build diaper changing stations in New York parks, but was so changed by his powers that he ended up suppressing major infrastructure projects became. He cannot be in charge of them. At the back of my copy are questions most readers probably asked themselves as they read on. What did it take? ” Behind that lies another question. How can we detect this early and take immediate action?