Cultural Futures: Getting There From Here

Abstract

This final chapter discusses models of sustainable futures including utopian ones, localism, de-growth, the re-discovery of indigenous knowledge, the impact of shifts in religious thinking and spirituality, and alternative economic arrangements. It proceeds to discuss mechanisms and methodologies for making the transition from our current unsustainable cultural practices to sustainable ones. These include new approaches to social movements, the management of transition, reform of education and the methodologies proposed by such active approaches to managing the transition to a post-oil society as those of the “Transition Movement”. The chapter concludes by arguing that if given sufficient creative thought, successful transitions to sustainability can be undertaken, and without violence, and can lead to a future not of austerity, but of new forms of abundance of time, conviviality and deep satisfactions, based on new patterns of lifestyle and cultural practice.