Book excerpt: Risk avoidance currently seems to be the patent remedy for all our problems. Central banks are attempting to defend our banking and economic systems from current threats by throwing vast amounts of money in their way, while politicians demonstrate benevolence in attempts to counter todays social ills – to ›sweep them under the carpet‹ as one might say. A general desire to ›keep going as normal‹ certainly appears prevalent. Without risk, however, there can be no progress, no learning, no insight. Markus Krall, bestselling author and one of the most insightful connoisseurs of the risk landscape, shows how currently unfolding distortions in business and politics, rapid technological development and geostrategic mistakes could lead us to catastrophe. He also shows where and how we can intervene to put our society on a new and better footing.