Renowned lawyer Ye Ning and his co-author Hua Zhou recently published a new book titled “Introduction to Oasis Civilization: A Thought Map Paving the Way for Humanity’s Future”, released by Boden Publishing and presented at a book launch event in Flushing on July 26. Ye Ning put forward a 12-word viewpoint on the future development of humanity in the book: “Entropy reduction world, era of grace, oasis civilization”.
Ye Ning is a practicing attorney in New York, specializing in litigation and handling numerous major domestic and international cases. He holds a Master of Laws degree from the University of Michigan, American University, and the University of Pennsylvania. Ye Ning frequently writes short commentaries and was invited as a special commentator for Radio Free Asia from 1999 to 2019, appearing on commentary programs for media outlets like NPC and VOA.
In the book, Ye Ning points out that the unprecedented material wealth brought by the rapid advancement of technology has reached its peak. Today, humanity, blessed with abundance, approaches a grace era close to the earthly paradise imagined by humans—a civilization of wisdom and entropy reduction. However, the jaws of hell remain wide open, devouring the unfortunate ensnared individuals.
Entropy is a concept in thermodynamics, where high entropy signifies disorder and difficulty in utilizing energy, while low entropy represents orderliness and easy concentration and utilization of energy. In thermodynamics and information theory, entropy reduction indicates reducing chaos, restoring order, and making systems more structured, efficient, and sustainable.
Ye Ning presents the viewpoint of a “world of entropy reduction, oasis civilization” in the book: Starting from 2012, he has worked from the perspective of technology and “learning from the bottom” to develop a new blueprint for civilization, advocating for values of greenness, sharing, and entropy reduction to replace traditional “scarcity logic” and “jungle law”. He hopes that China can embark on a constitutional path of “transition from red to green” rather than an authoritarian route of “transition from red to black” or a path of “both red and black”.
When asked why he wrote this book, Ye Ning mentioned two stimulating factors that prompted him to write the book amidst his busy schedule. Firstly, the COVID-19 pandemic, which he believes was a “9.9-point man-made disaster” that could have been entirely avoided, revealing humanity’s lost direction and the lack of emphasis on the clinical application of the broad-spectrum antiviral drug hydroxychloroquine. Secondly, the leap in technology and lag in governance: Although technology can achieve the prosperity of the era of grace for humanity, ruling classes are still stuck in the mindset of the “era of scarcity”, leading to ongoing wars and exploitation.
Ye Ning introduces the core proposition of entropy reduction in the book. He states that this is not only a thermodynamic concept in nature but also an ideological entropy, signifying reducing foolishness and waste. Entropy reduction is also the negative aspect of “profit”, a philosophy of passive consumption that enhances efficiency and rational governance.
Ye Ning emphasizes that science and technology are both a fighting force and a destructive force; while technology has lifted humanity from the era of poverty and scarcity, the understanding and decision-making of ruling groups still remain in the era of “economic scarcity”, resulting in inevitable costs.
Co-author Hua Zhou is a writer, journalist, and former aerospace expert. He highlights the importance of electricity for future national competitiveness. Hua states that while AI is rapidly advancing, AI cannot exist without electricity, everything is futile without electricity, and electric power is the core of future competition. Data shows that China’s electricity generation is 2.5 times that of the United States, and the United States should recognize this severity.
Political commentator Hu Ping, scholars Xu Youyu and Zhang Aimei, Boden Publishing president Rong Wei, and several friends of Ye Ning attended the book launch event, enthusiastically discussing the novel viewpoints proposed in the book. They praised Ye Ning for his versatility, being a great lawyer, composer, publishing pharmaceutical papers in medical journals, having diverse interests, and offering profound insights into issues with strategic foresight.
Hu Ping mentioned that the book raises awareness of green energy issues for the benefit of society as a whole. Zhang Aimei noted that the book encompasses politics, economics, technology, society, culture, values, etc., displaying interdisciplinary thinking and vision.