AustLit

'There is no singular future out there waiting for us. The future is a contested and creative space in which individuals, communities and even civilisations explore the creative possibilities available to them in their traditions, their imaginaries and their choices. This provocation outlines some key drivers in the area of climate change, marginalisation and vulnerability. It does not seek to offer a coherent ‘narrative’ but rather to challenge the reader to think about the current global conditions under the banner of the new term ‘anthropocene’ and consider where resilience is to be found in our complex and uncertain world.'  (Publication abstract)

'The future isn’t what it used to be, that’s for sure. Eminent futurist Ziauddin Sardar summed up the situation under the banner of postnormal times. Here, in true Dickensian manner, he lays out the crisis for us:

'Welcome to postnormal times. It’s a time when little out there can be trusted or gives us confidence. The espiritu del tiempo, the spirit of our age, is characterised by uncertainty, rapid change, realignment of power, upheaval and chaotic behaviour. We live in an in-between period where old orthodoxies are dying, new ones have yet to be born, and very few things seem to make sense. Ours is a transitional age, a time without the confidence that we can return to any past we have known and with no confidence in any path to a desirable, attainable or sustainable future. It is a time when all choices seem perilous, likely to lead to ruin, if not entirely over the edge of the abyss. In our time it is possible to dream all dreams of visionary futures but almost impossible to believe we have the capability or commitment to make any of them a reality. We live in a state of flux beset by indecision: what is for the best, which is worse? We are disempowered by the risks, cowed into timidity by fear of the choices we might be inclined or persuaded to contemplate (2010 p. 435).'  (Introduction)