Despite being the planet’s apex predator we are secretly fearful that terrible things will happen. Our anticipation of the 21st century was delicious, but our mood is desperate looking to the 22nd. Will our climate and democratic freedoms survive? Why do authoritarian populists prevail? What has gone wrong with modern life, and how can we fix these problems? With subtle humor, here is a lucid and engaging framework for understanding why we are the problem, and how economics can help us to solve it.