Contents of the Current Issue

Executive Summaries

Rescuing a Planet Under Stress
by Lester R. Brown

SUMMARY: As the world's nonrenewable resources are increasingly depleted, and as burgeoning economies such as China create more and more demand, conflicts will arise such as for land use--do we use it to grow food to feed the hungry or to pave more roads to move the masses? A new, more sustainable economy is clearly needed, and the time to begin building it is now. The key will be to acknowledge ecological truth and incorporate the costs of nature's services into the prices of goods and services that impact nature.

PLUS four guest commentaries:

1. University of Vermont ecological economics professor Robert Costanza explores how to put the field of economics on more sound environmental footing in his piece "Toward an Ecological Economy."

2. Johns Hopkins University political scientist Mark Blyth examines whether the American way of life is environmentally sustainable even with better technology. He and asks, "Will Wind and Biofuels Be Enough?"

3. University of Winnipeg economist Xiao-yuan Dong sheds light on the subject of China’s rapid economic growth and what it might mean for the global environment in her essay, "Consumption, Status, and the Changing Chinese Model."

4. University of California Latino studies professor Manuel Pastor Jr. looks at the role that race, class, and demographics might play in implementing more ecologically sound economic policies: "Who Wins and Who Loses in a Sustainable Economy?"

The Dragon vs. the Tiger: China and India Reshape the Global Economy
by Marvin J. Cetron and Owen Davies

SUMMARY: Overviews of development trends in China and India and how they compare as prospects for future investments in the global economy. China's businesses have thrived and the GDP quadrupled in the last quarter of the twentieth century. But China lags on Internet development, and the lack of widespread English usage poses barriers to Western partners. India's GDP growth rate is also high but still not in China's league. Poverty and illiteracy remain problems, but India has the advantage of widespread English use and an increasingly skilled workforce. Bottom line: China for the short term, India for the long.

The Robotic Economy: Brave New World or a Return to Slavery?
by Arnold Brown

SUMMARY: One of the harsh truths of past productivity gains in the Industrialized West is that they were based on slave labor. As automation and robotics boost productivity once again, will the new "slaves" be treated any differently from the former ones? And should humans think differently of them, especially since future robots will likely incorporate living, organic materials and even DNA? Management of the future will focus more on what the employee (or system) can do rather than who (or what) it is, and we'll see a shift from humankind to "mindkind."

Can Minority Languages Be Saved? Globalization vs. Culture
by Eric Garland

SUMMARY: The global economy and the Internet have helped boost majority languages such as English and Mandarin, while speakers of minority languages dwindle in number. But these same forces could help reverse the language shift by connecting speakers from worldwide language diasporas.

To order the print edition of the July-August  2006 issue of THE FUTURIST ($4.95 plus $3 postage and handling) or to become a member of the World Future Society ($49 per year).

COPYRIGHT © 2006 WORLD FUTURE SOCIETY, 7910 Woodmont Avenue, Suite 450, Bethesda, Maryland 20814. Tel. 301-656-8274. E-mail info@wfs.org. Send comments about our web pages to: webmaster@wfs.org. All rights reserved.