Dear All,

I thought you might be interested in this news article about teaching people to think long-term. I've tried similar approaches in my classes and have also done workshops on speculative futurism. An 'anticipatory competence' seems to be crucial for surviving and planning in an uncertain world. It would be interesting to share thoughts, critiques and ideas on this subject. What are the possibilities, benefits, gaps and flaws of the idea described in the article?

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/10/30/opinion/how-be-good-ancestor/

An extract is below.

Thanks,

Vandana

Wittingly or not, Washington had identified a fundamental flaw in democracy: that the billions upon billions of people who will inhabit the future and will be impacted by our choices have no political voice. They are granted no rights or representation. Their interests can’t compete with the cut and thrust of a presidential election or the short-term cycles of 24/7 media. And since they’re not here, they can’t take direct action by leaping in front of the king’s horse like an English suffragette or staging a sit-in like a civil rights activist.

But the future is getting a voice in ingenious new ways.

The Japanese town of Yahaba, population 27,000, is unremarkable except for the fact that it is home to one of the most pioneering and horizon-stretching experiments in the history of modern democracy.