by Stephen Chan (Isbn-13: 9781848133044)

This is a magical realist book on world politics. Stephen Chan takes the reader on a rollercoaster ride through how we can establish a new kind of international relations and construct a common future for the planet.  The book’s main argument is that international politics has failed because the certainties of singular traditions of philosophy fail to help us in understanding power shifts and struggles in an endlessly diverse world.  Chan argues that fusing different strands of Western, Eastern,…

by Ted Striphas (Isbn-13: 9780231148146)

Ted Striphas argues that, although the production and propagation of books have undoubtedly entered a new phase, printed works are still very much a part of our everyday lives. With examples from trade journals, news media, films, advertisements, and a host of other commercial and scholarly materials, Striphas tells a story of modern publishing that proves, even in a rapidly digitizing world, books are anything but dead. From the rise of retail superstores to Oprah’s phenomenal reach, Striphas tracks…

testing

FreedomLab’s Penny-For-Your-Thoughts program is asking opinion leaders around the world to share some unfinished thoughts with us. In this first installment Pakistani-born political scientist and futurist Sohail Inayatullah shares some possible futures for a world that is being transformed by the global financial crisis: “As you engage in mapping the future, your own subjectivity, your own inner stories keep on changing the map. If you can understand what is the core inner story, then you can link that to an objective alternative future. That’s why I think this transformation is a sign of the end of the industrial era. And each of us needs to help in creating the transition.” Watch Sohail’s PFYT and share your thoughts on it…

by Jonathan Friedman

Although the United States is currently the world’s only military and economic superpower, the nation’s superpower status may not last. The possible futures of the global system and the role of U.S. power are illuminated by careful study of the past. This book addresses the problems of conceptualizing and assessing hegemonic rise and decline in comparative and historical perspective. Several chapters are devoted to the study of hegemony in premodern world-systems. And several chapters scrutinize…

A New Path for World Development
The global issues that the 1972 report “Limits to Growth” sketched so imminently are even more severe and urgent today. It is time to hit the “tipping point” for “runaway change”, away from the structures that have long functioned and brought prosperity to many, but at hidden costs that can no longer be absorbed, and time to construct a track to inclusiveness and one-planet economic growth. Once again, the Club of Rome felt the need to intervene on the global stage and launched a three year, integrated programme of international research and consultation: “A New Path for World Development”.

Cities Can Save the World.
Metropoles - world cities - are lead players in the global economy. Though they cover just 2 percent of the earth’s surface, cities consume 75 percent of the resources utilized by humankind. Cities dominate the planet politically, economically, ecologically and cultur- ally. How mankind functions in the city of the future shall to a large extent depend on factors such as energy, water, waste, food, mobil- ity and ICT. If we manage to make our cities sustainable then this will have a huge impact for the whole of the planet.

Else Bos, CEO PGGM Investments: “It’s very important in times like these to make the decision whether you put your time and effort in the urgent or in the important. And I think responsible investment is important.”
Donald MacDonald, Chair of the PRI Initiative: “People have now come to understand that the so called extra financial issues, actually do have a serious impact on long term investments.”
Gavin Power, Deputy Director UN Global Compact: “The objectives of business and finance are now meshing with those of the UN and international community. This has led to a number of public private partnerships like the PRI.”
James Gifford, Executive Director PRI Initiative: “The core philosophy behind responsible investment as defined by the PRI, are those activities that will add value for the shareholders through building better companies over the long term.”
Marcel Jeucken, Head of Responsible Investment PGGM Investments: “In the end we will not talk about responsible investments anymore, but we simply talk about investments.”