Richard A. Slaughter - Futures Beyond Dystopia Creating Social Foresight (2004)

 

Book Description 

 

How can dystopian futures help provide the motivation to change the ways we operate day to day?
Futures Beyond Dystopia takes the view that the dominant trends in the world suggest a long-term decline into unliveable Dystopian futures. The human prospect is therefore very challenging, yet the perception of dangers and dysfunctions is the first step towards dealing with them. The motivation to avoid future dangers is matched by the human need to create plans and move forward. These twin motivations can be very powerful and help to stimulate the fields of Futures Studies and Applied Foresight.

This analysis of current Futures practice is split into six sections:

* The Case Against Hegemony
* Expanding and Deepening a Futures Frame
* Futures Studies and the Integral Agenda
* Social Learning through Applied Foresight
* Strategies and Outlooks
* The Dialectic of Foresight and Experience.

This fascinating book will stimulate anyone involved in Futures work around the world and will challenge practitioners and others to re-examine many of their assumptions, methodologies and practices.