--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In a few hundred years, when the history…" description: "\"In a few hundred years, when the history of our time will be written from a long-term perspective, it is likely that the most important event historian..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3bf/peter-drucker-393_choices_in-a-few-hundred-years-when-the-history_2269544.png" --- # In a few hundred years, when the history of our time will… ![“In a few hundred years, when the history of our time will be written from a long-term perspective, it is likely that the most important event historians will see is not technology, not the Internet, not e-commerce. It is an unprecedented change in the human condition. For the first time…” quote by Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3bf/peter-drucker-393_choices_in-a-few-hundred-years-when-the-history_2269544.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3bf/peter-drucker-393_choices_in-a-few-hundred-years-when-the-history_2269544.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3bf/peter-drucker-393_choices_in-a-few-hundred-years-when-the-history_2269544.png) > “In a few hundred years, when the history of our time will be written from a long-term perspective, it is likely that the most important event historians will see is not technology, not the Internet, not e-commerce. It is an unprecedented change in the human condition. For the first time - literally - substantial and rapidly growing numbers of people have choices. For the first time, they will have to manage themselves. And society is totally unprepared for it.” [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human choice explosion demands self‑management; society is unprepared for this profound shift. **In simple terms:** People now have many choices and must self‑manage. Key Takeaway Develop self‑management skills. Themes choice self‑management societal change Mood concerned forward‑looking Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - education - career planning - policy making - mental health - technology adoption Key Concepts behavioral economics future studies Questions to Reflect On - What systems can help individuals manage abundant choices? - How can societies adapt to widespread self‑direction? A Different Perspective Self‑management is difficult without support structures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) [Commerce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commerce/) [E commerce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/e-commerce/) [Events](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/events/) [Historians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historians/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Human condition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-condition/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Important events](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important-events/) [Internet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/internet/) [Long term](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-term/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Perspective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perspective/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“As Peter Drucker said, “In a few hundred years, when the history of our time will be written from a long-term perspective, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-mckeown/as-peter-drucker-said-in-a-few-hundred-years-when-the-history-of-our/) [Greg McKeown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-mckeown/) > [The voyage of the Beagle has been by far the most important event in my life and has determined my whole career; yet it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-voyage-of-the-beagle-has-been-by-far-the-most-important-event-in/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [There's this wonderful and very important event when we're born, and we forget everything that's gone before, or else we'd be such a mass…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bach/there-s-this-wonderful-and-very-important-event-when-we-re-born-and/) [Richard Bach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bach/) > [In a complex universe, in a society undergoing unprecedented change, how can we find the truth if we are not willing to question everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/in-a-complex-universe-in-a-society-undergoing-unprecedented-change/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [We're living in an era of unprecedented change, and I want to be a part of documenting it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-fournier/we-re-living-in-an-era-of-unprecedented-change-and-i-want-to-be-a/) [Ron Fournier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-fournier/) > [If you are not open to the unprecedented, you will repeat history. If you are open to the unprecedented, you will change history. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-batterson/if-you-are-not-open-to-the-unprecedented-you-will-repeat-history-if/) [Mark Batterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-batterson/) > [ The postwar \[WWII\] GI Bill of Rights - and the enthusiastic response to it on the part of America's veterans - signaled the shift… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/the-postwar-wwii-gi-bill-of-rights-and-the-enthusiastic-response-to/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [The feeling before and after the event is very important. There are things happening before and after the event. These things are even more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gueorgui-pinkhassov/the-feeling-before-and-after-the-event-is-very-important-there-are/) [Gueorgui Pinkhassov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gueorgui-pinkhassov/) > [I think we continually need to understand how important an event the war was - how defining, how central to who we are. Everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-burns/i-think-we-continually-need-to-understand-how-important-an-event-the/) [Ken Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-burns/) > [You know, being able to celebrate the legacy of Dr. King is an extraordinarily important event for our country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-thomas-greenfield/you-know-being-able-to-celebrate-the-legacy-of-dr-king-is-an/) [Linda Thomas-Greenfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-thomas-greenfield/) > [Our response to an event is more important than the event itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angeles-arrien/our-response-to-an-event-is-more-important-than-the-event-itself/) [Angeles Arrien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angeles-arrien/) > [The three most important events of human life are equally devoid of reason: birth, marriage and death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-o-malley/the-three-most-important-events-of-human-life-are-equally-devoid-of/) [Austin O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-o-malley/) > [There have only been about a half dozen genuinely important events in the four-billion-year saga of life on Earth: single-celled life, multicelled life, differentiation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elon-musk/there-have-only-been-about-a-half-dozen-genuinely-important-events-in/) [Elon Musk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elon-musk/) > [In the whole story of Jesus Christ, the most important event is the resurrection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lyon-phelps/in-the-whole-story-of-jesus-christ-the-most-important-event-is-the/) [William Lyon Phelps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lyon-phelps/) > [Teaching children about the natural world should be seen as one of the most important events in their lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-berry/teaching-children-about-the-natural-world-should-be-seen-as-one-of/) [Thomas Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-berry/) ## More by Peter Drucker > [One reason for the tremendous increase in health-care costs in the U.S. is managerial neglect of the "hotel services" by the people who dominate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/one-reason-for-the-tremendous-increase-in-health-care-costs-in-the-u/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [No executive has ever suffered because his subordinates were strong and effective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/no-executive-has-ever-suffered-because-his-subordinates-were-strong/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [Results is all that separates one company from another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/results-is-all-that-separates-one-company-from-another/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [“There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all. Peter Drucker”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/there-is-nothing-so-useless-as-doing-efficiently-that-which-should/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [Our society has become an employee society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/our-society-has-become-an-employee-society/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [Replace your pursuit of success with the pursuit of contribution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/replace-your-pursuit-of-success-with-the-pursuit-of-contribution/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [Management means, in the last analysis, the substitution of thought for brawn and muscle, of knowledge for folkways and superstition, and of cooperation for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/management-means-in-the-last-analysis-the-substitution-of-thought-for/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [Don't try to innovate for the future. Innovate for the present!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/don-t-try-to-innovate-for-the-future-innovate-for-the-present/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [The critical question is not "How can I achieve?" but "What can I contribute?"](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/the-critical-question-is-not-how-can-i-achieve-but-what-can-i/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [We can say with certainty - or 90% probability - that the new industries that are about to be born will have nothing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/we-can-say-with-certainty-or-90-probability-that-the-new-industries/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [When it rains manna from heaven, some people put up an umbrella. Others reach for a big spoon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/when-it-rains-manna-from-heaven-some-people-put-up-an-umbrella-others/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [The enterprise can fulfill its human and social functions only if it prospers as a business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/the-enterprise-can-fulfill-its-human-and-social-functions-only-if-it/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [The computer actually may have aggravated management's degenerative tendency to focus inward on costs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/the-computer-actually-may-have-aggravated-management-s-degenerative/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [Nobody can predict the future; the idea is to have a firm grasp of the present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/nobody-can-predict-the-future-the-idea-is-to-have-a-firm-grasp-of-the/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [An executive should be a realist; and no one is less realistic than the cynic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/an-executive-should-be-a-realist-and-no-one-is-less-realistic-than/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) [Explore all 603 Peter Drucker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) ## More Choices quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [“Don’t allow anyone to pressure you into taking a job in a field that doesn’t feel right in your gut. You are the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-james/don-t-allow-anyone-to-pressure-you-into-taking-a-job-in-a-field-that/) Alison James > [When you have a choice, choose happy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pancho-barnes/when-you-have-a-choice-choose-happy/) Pancho Barnes > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Movies have power. Power to impact society and the choices we make. I want to entertain, but I also want to say something to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-prince-bythewood/movies-have-power-power-to-impact-society-and-the-choices-we-make-i/) [Gina Prince-Bythewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-prince-bythewood/) > [If you have a different mindset, you will have a different outcome: if you make different choices from your peers, your life will then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-ma/if-you-have-a-different-mindset-you-will-have-a-different-outcome-if/) [Jack Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-ma/) > [Personally, I prefer contemporary films, but the market calls for more period choices, especially since China opened up a cinema market in Hong Kong.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donnie-yen/personally-i-prefer-contemporary-films-but-the-market-calls-for-more/) [Donnie Yen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donnie-yen/) > [Clarissa," he said, "here with the vampire, I see. When things have settled a bit, we really must discuss you choice in pets..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/clarissa-he-said-here-with-the-vampire-i-see-when-things-have-settled/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [Change is inevitable but personal growth is a choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/change-is-inevitable-but-personal-growth-is-a-choice/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [If you choose to draw from the inner well of free will, then you can make choices that are outside your current karmic patterns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/if-you-choose-to-draw-from-the-inner-well-of-free-will-then-you-can/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Act always so as to increase the number of choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heinz-von-foerster/act-always-so-as-to-increase-the-number-of-choices/) [Heinz von Foerster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heinz-von-foerster/) > [Give me a platter of choice finnan haddie, freshly cooked in its bath of water and milk, add melted butter, a slice or two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-claiborne/give-me-a-platter-of-choice-finnan-haddie-freshly-cooked-in-its-bath/) [Craig Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-claiborne/) > [I don't know that any woman could ever not think about that at some point - even making the choice not to do it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-watts/i-don-t-know-that-any-woman-could-ever-not-think-about-that-at-some/) [Naomi Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-watts/) > [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) [Browse all 11,466 Choices quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In a few hundred years, when the history of our time will be written from a long-term perspective, it is likely that the most important event historians will see is not technology, not the Internet, not e-commerce. It is an unprecedented change in the human condition. For the first time - literally - substantial and rapidly growing numbers of people have choices. For the first time, they will have to manage themselves. And society is totally unprepared for it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Peter Drucker" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/in-a-few-hundred-years-when-the-history-of-our-time-will-be-written/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Choices" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/in-a-few-hundred-years-when-the-history-of-our-time-will-be-written/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3bf/peter-drucker-393_choices_in-a-few-hundred-years-when-the-history_2269544.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3bf/peter-drucker-393_choices_in-a-few-hundred-years-when-the-history_2269544.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3bf/peter-drucker-393_choices_in-a-few-hundred-years-when-the-history_2269544.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In a few hundred years, when the history of our time will be written from a long-term perspective, it is…” — Peter Drucker", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Peter Drucker", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In a few hundred years, when...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/in-a-few-hundred-years-when-the-history-of-our-time-will-be-written/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/in-a-few-hundred-years-when-the-history-of-our-time-will-be-written/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```