Mansoor Khan Interview

Mansoor talks about the book at length and says that The Third Curve tries to erase people’s myths about growth. “We believe that money will continue to grow exponentially – the concept I refer to as the Perpetual Exponential Quantitative Growth (PEQC), and this belief of ours is gradually running out. The reason behind this is that the capacity of the earth to produce energy is limited, and we have consumed so much of it already that the whole concept of growth appears questionable now,” says Man- soor, adding that the real currency is energy, unlike what most people think. “So many people have believed that everything depends on monetary growth. However, what they don’t realise is that they are talking symbolically. How will any growth occur if we have consumed all of the energy resources? The real currency is and will always remain energy, which has been grossly forgotten.”

Mansoor’s book primarily addresses two issues- Man’s total acceptance of an infinite economic growth model, which is not possible, and the reality of the finiteness of the earth, which is evident. Elaborating on the book further, he stresses that it is not about morality, justice, equity, environmental consciousness, and other noble human values but hard-core facts.

“My book is a product of years of study, where one has considered everything happening over the years. It is based on energetics, which is a true discipline. This book is about understanding that our world is energy-intensive and we are on an energy descent,” he says. He further added that it is high time that people start acknowledging it and stop living in denial. “We don’t want to accept it and are making false plans. The Third Curve considers how we have been fudging our growth over the years. Most of the growth died in the late ’60s, and the growth happening today is mostly symbolic in the form of various financial instruments like shares, debentures, and all. But this is all perceived,” says Mansoor, who prefers calling himself a realist than an optimist.

Although his book has garnered great reviews within a short span of its launch in Mumbai and now in Pune, Mansoor does not like calling himself an author and is a tad reluctant to discuss his plans concerning writing, “I would not like to call myself an author. I wrote because I felt strongly about the topic and needed to convey it to the people. Even when it came to directing movies, I was a filmmaker until I had something to share,” says Mansoor, hinting that he intends to come up with two other books soon.

Did you know?

• Mansoor Khan is an alumnus of IIT Bombay, Cornell, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
• Currently, he has no plans to direct any films. He is now settled in Coonoor, Tamil Nadu, with his wife Tina, where he owns an ecological tourism resort and makes organic cheese.
• His children–daughter Zynia and son Pablo, both have interests in the creative field. While his daughter is dabbling in theatre, his son is studying music.