Co-Creating a Public Philosophy for Future Generations

TAE-CHANG KIM is President of the Institute for Integrated Study of Future Generations in Kyoto, Japan. Prior to that, he was Dean of the Graduate School of Public Administration of Chungbuk National University in Chungbuk, Korea. His previous works include Creating a New History for Future Generations (l994), also co-authored with Jim Dator.JAMES A. DATOR is Director of the Hawaii Research Center for Futures Studies at the University of Hawaii and a past President of the World Futures Studies Federation.

When making decisions, governments can and should strive consciously to balance the demands of the present with the needs of future generations. Various advocates for greater governmental foresight have created new processes or institutions within existing systems of democratic government. These include long-range planning departments, futures commissions, requirements for future-impact statements on proposed legislation, environmental protection agencies, and offices of technology assessment. But, as the contributors to this volume demonstrate, much more remains to be done.Some of the provocative questions posed by this book include: What is a public philosophy oriented to the needs of future generations necessary, and why is it necessary? What are the major examples of actual experiments in future-oriented governance? What were their successes and failures, and the reasons for each? And finally, what are the obstacles to future-oriented governance, and how might they be overcome? The authors of the essays in this volume suggest answers based on their extensive experience in working with governments, trying to help them incorporate techniques of foresight into their institutions and practices.

The experience of a score of futurists and politicians from a dozen different countries shows how governments can learn how to balance the needs of the present with those of future generations.

Introduction: Future Generations--They Are Our Conscience by Tae-Chang Kim and Jim DatorWho Are Future Generations? What Are Public Philosophies for Future Generations?The Virtual Republic by Walt AndersonFuture Generations and Governmental Processes by Fred W. RiggsFuture Generations: Challenge and Response by Takeshi SasakiProtecting the Options of Future Generations by Martha J. GarrettDeveloping a Culture of Consequences by Jordi SerraTowards Responsibility for Future Generations: Five Possible Strategies for Transformation by Kjell DahleOrienting Citizens and Governments towards Future Generations: Actual ExperiencesFuture-Oriented Political Philosophy in China: History, Possibilities, and Perspective by Xinning SongFuture Generations and Government Aimed at the Future by Alexander TomovBalancing Now and the Future: A Political Perspective by Barry O. JonesGovernmental Foresight and Future Generations by Clem BezoldEnlightened Democracy and the Responsibility to Future Generations by Christa Daryl Slaton and Theodore L. BeckerCreating Future-Oriented Public Philosophies: Theoretical ConcernsLeadership, Evil, and Future Generations: Towards a Global Conversation of Cultures by Sohail InayatullahGoverning in the Interests of Future Generations by Iam LoweA Socially Sustainable Economy for Future Generations by Lars IngelstamFuture Generations: "Citizens" or "Consumers?" by Rich SomervilleCreating Future-Oriented Public Philosophies and Processes: Inspiring New DesignsInvesting for Future Generations by George KentIntimate Politics: Face-to-Face with Future Generations by Wendy SchultzHawaii--Victim of Global Forces, Seeds for Sustainability: Can Future-Oriented Political Processes Be Created? by Ira RohterDecision Day by Bruce E. TonnGlobal Democracy by 2020 by Devin NordbergConclusion: Bricolaging a Public Philosophy for the Well-Being of Future Generations--First Steps from Tetsuro Watsuji by Tae-Chang KimIndex