As Future Survey editor Michael Marien points out, futurists routinely offer scenarios of "preferred" futures in addition to possible and probable ones when they attempt to envision the future. In fact, a rich vocabulary already exists that describes this crucial endeavor: goal setting, recommending, shaping the future, strategizing, wayfinding, and social-betterment thinking to name a few. One problem with utopias is that they tend to be grandiose--or at least we think of them as such. In fact, a variety of thinkers have offered many useful proposals for social betterment, but would never dream of calling their visions utopian. (See "Utopia Revisited: New Thinking on Social Betterment," page 37.)

Utopian visions also suffer from a reputation of being unrealistic. So utopian (or "social betterment") thinkers need to do a better job of outlining exactly how their ideas can work. A prime example is offered in this issue by Lester Brown in his inspiring vision of the eco-economy: a truly sustainable economy that satisfies the fundamental biological principles upon which our planet operates--reuse and recycle everything. Brown also shows which specific industries will fade, which will flourish, and what new jobs will emerge in this eco-economy--such as aquacultural veterinarians and wind-turbine engineers. (See "The Eco-Economic Revolution: Getting the Market in Sync with Nature," page 23.)

And if a more-accurate vocabulary and more-realistic descriptions of preferred futures aren't enough to rescue utopia, architect Malcolm Wells also offers a gentle portrait of a progressive society that goes underground. (See the Visions essay, "An Underground Utopia," page 33.)