Speaker: Dr. Michael Marien
Topic: 50 Years of Fragmented Futures: From WFS/CAFS to WAAS/CACOR and SSG/SDGs.
CAFS – Canadian Association for Futures Studies
WAAS – World Academy of Art and Science
CACOR – Canadian Association for the Club of Rome
SSG – Security and Sustainability Guide
SDGs – sustainable development goals
Time: Nov 16, 2022 13:30 Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Summary: CACOR Session #123
Has futures-thinking and futures studies made any difference over the past decades? My answer is “generally no,” perhaps with a few exceptions for a few individuals, organizations, and/or nations. The reason is three-fold. First, futures-thinking is not a discipline or a field: a futurist is simply anyone who says that he or she is a futurist or is seen as such. Second, there is a far greater amount of futures-thinking by non-futurists, without using the “f-word” (e.g. IPCC). Third, there are many ways and words to describe futures-thinking. The result of many people writing about the future in different ways, for better or worse, increasingly in a variety of media, led to considerable fragmentation in the WFS/CAFS era, and, arguably, far more today. But now, in a time of multiple crises and great uncertainty, there is a clear transition from descriptive futures (what is probable and possible) to prescriptive futures (what is desirable).
Bio:
Dr. Michael Marien earned a PhD * in social science and national planning from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University. He was founder and editor of Future Survey, a monthly indexed review of 50 books and reports, published by the World Future Society, 1979-2008. He currently serves as founder and Senior Principal of The Security & Sustainability Guide.
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