Current Issues - Proutist Universal- Progressive Utilization Theory

The Pawn That Roars, Selfies And Amusement Parks, Or Localism and Soft Islam: The Futures of Afghanistan

Professor Sohail Inayatullah is the UNESCO Chair in Futures Studies at the Sejahtera Centre for Sustainability and Technology, Malaysia.Jose Ramos is the Editor of the Journal of Futures Studies, Taiwan.Roar Bjonnes is the co-founder of the Systems Change Alliance, London, UK.Satya Tanner is a former Squadron Leader of the Royal Australian Airforce. She is both a leadership development consultant, and

October 2, 2021

Sarkar on Afghanistan and the Status of Women

It has been heartbreaking to watch over the past few weeks scenes of desperation amongst ordinary Afghan civilians who are horrified to see the Taliban back in power in their beloved country. The younger generation in the capital city Kabul had grown up with freedom of movement, freedom of speech and expression, freedom of dress and the right to an

September 30, 2021

Ethical and moral tests to help leaders stay on track

Happy societies are dependent on the degree of ethics present. The more a society tolerates corruption, the more unhappy it is (1). Societies with a good ethical base have leaders and systems that promote ethical behaviour and therefore can achieve greater happiness. Morals and ethics are related to the standard of behaviour that is allowed within a particular group or by a particular

September 5, 2021

Population Myths – Islamophobia and Depopulating World

By G. Surender Reddy Population Bomb Myth: The family planning initiative during the Emergency of 1976 by the Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was at the behest of IMF and World Bank, which viewed with alarm the rise in India’s population levels. During the Emergency, suspension of democratic rights encouraged the regime to launch forced sterilization to appease the global

August 26, 2021

Creating A New Renaissance: Can Responses To Covid-19 Pivot Us To A Transformed World?

In this essay, we ask if there are any weak signals for a pivot toward a new renaissance trigged by COVID-19. Using the work of Arundhuti Roy as a starting off point, we suggest that six pivots are possible: (1) the shift from GDP to Wellbeing; (2) From Roads, Rates, and Rubbish to the Anticipatory City; (3) From Central Fossil

August 12, 2021

“AmaZen” is not a solution to Amazon’s worker exploitation

Amazon recently announced the idea of equipping its workspaces with ‘AmaZen’ – small, enclosed cubes in which employees can enjoy quiet and peace to “focus on their mental wellbeing”. These pods come with interactive kiosks inside, where workers can watch videos on mental health and mindfulness. Amazon, a company which catapulted its founder, and soon-to-be ex-CEO Jeff Bezos to the

June 21, 2021

Beyond Covid-19: The transition to Gaian leadership

In late February 2020, with my colleague, futurist and epidemiologist Peter Black, we, wrote a piece on COVID-19 scenarios and implications. We started as our departure point asking the question, was this a black swan or predictable event? Our conclusion was that the emergence of this zoonotic disease with planetary political, financial, and health implications was not just utterly predictable

June 15, 2021

SCIENCE WITH INCLUSIVE STORIES:

A NARRATIVE ANALYSIS OF SUCCESSES AND FAILURES IN MANAGING THE PANDEMIC Ivana Milojevic and Sohail Inayatullah THE NARRATIVE CONTEXT During the global financial crisis over a decade ago, the Financial Times (Yergin: 2009) reported that at its heart this was a narrative crisis. How one creates national policy and strategy depends on the story one uses. Depending on the narrative used –

June 9, 2021

On Patent Waivers

U.S. President Joe Biden has signalled his support for the suspension of patent rights for COVID-19 vaccines, predictably angering pharmaceutical companies, which have seen rising profits during the crisis. Reuters reports that the industry’s biggest lobby group warned that Biden’s step would undermine the companies’ response to the pandemic and compromise safety. However, a report issued by the People’s Vaccine

May 31, 2021

Thriving People, Thriving Planet