WFS - March-April 2002 FUTURIST New on the Web

A magazine of forecasts, trends, and ideas about the future
March-April 2002 Vol. 36, No. 2

Contents of the Current Issue

Back Issues

Online Indexes:
Author Index A-L
Author Index M-Z
Index of News Articles

Reprints/ Permissions

Writer's Guidelines

Send a Letter to the Editor

Top 10 Forecasts From Outlook 2002 Report

What's New on wfs.org

The World Future Society's Web site features special sections such as Futurist Interviews and the Forums, where you can access the latest thinking of futurists and share your own insights and comments.

New Homepage Design!

The Society's Web site now makes it easier to find what you need! Links to the current issue of THE FUTURIST, conference registration forms, hot topics, and membership services are just a click away: www.wfs.org

A New Look at Utopias

Sociology professor Arthur B. Shostak, chair of the Society's 2002 conference in July, spoke with the editors of Future Times about his effort to bring utopian thinking back into the classroom for serious scrutiny by both sociologists and futurists. The result is a new guidebook, Utopian Thinking in Sociology: Creating the Good Society (click here to read review).

Shostak believes that studying utopian thinking can help students think more creatively and positively about the future. "Young collegians are always hungry to explore the twin notions of possibilities and perfectibility," he said. Utopias are not always failures, he added, pointing to successful utopian endeavors such as the creation of the United Nations and the ending of apartheid in South Africa. The complete interview is posted online at www.wfs.org/intshostak.htm.

The Virtual Country

The Internet is facilitating a new, technocratic competitor to the nation-state, according to Thomas J. Frey, Juan "Kiko" Suarez, and Eduardo Suarez of The DaVinci Institute. The authors offer several scenarios of the emerging Virtual Country, including one in which the refugees of the world are given virtual nation status, one in which corporations become nation-states, and one in which nations market themselves around the world in open citizenship enrollments. Read the complete essay online at www.wfs.org/frey.htm. Comments welcome!

The Demise of Ethnic Differences

The Internet allows us to transcend traditional approaches to human identity that focus on superficial issues such as race, ethnicity, and gender, and instead focus on ideas and shared values, argues sociologist Caleb Rosado, director of El Centro, the extension campus of Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago.

"The changes awaiting us in the near future will force us out of our heads and into our hearts with rigorous honesty, as we come to grips with the essence of our common core humanity," Rosado writes. Read the complete essay online at www.wfs.org/rosado.htm.

New Global Strategies Forum

The World Future Society invites submissions of original essays describing ideas and proposals to address the complex issues facing the world today and in the near-term future. Send your essay, with 50-word abstract and short biographical sketch, to webmaster@wfs.org.

To order the print edition of the March-April 2002 issue of THE FUTURIST ($4.95 plus $3 postage and handling) or to become a member of the World Future Society ($45 per year).