‘Future thinking’ or studying ‘futures in the present’ looks deeply at assumptions about the future and their influence on daily actions in the present. This is a process by which stronger ethical and more just decisions in society can be made, according to associate Professor Environmental Governance and Politics Sietske Veenman and sociologist at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Australia Liam Mayo. For instance, towards the transition to sustainability.
The study of ‘Futures thinking’: what if we deeply question our assumptions about the time yet to come?
Mayo: ‘I met Sietske during her sabbatical in Australia and we quickly discovered our mutual understanding of future thinking. Fundamentally, future thinking is about the fact that the future should be considered as something that exists in the present instead of something that is on the horizon. We believe that if you look at the future that way, you are able to make strong ethical, just decisions that will ultimately impact societies, communities, and even the globe as a whole.’ Veenman: ‘Liam and I started talking about our mutual interests for embedding future thinking across disciplines: how can we use the theory of future thinking to influence ongoing conversations, decision-making, and policy-making around the transition to sustainability? We decided we wanted to do research on this question. Because these ‘futures in the present’ is actually something you can do proper research on.’
The expected future of ‘everybody will drive electric cars’ is a good example of how we easily act on dominant assumptions in society, instead of thinking carefully about our own behavior.
Feelings of anticipation
Mayo, a social theorist and a guest researcher with the Department of Environment, Planning, and Geography admits the word ‘futures’ is sometimes confusing. Is it about fortune-telling or science fiction? Mayo: ‘We are actually focusing on the feeling of anticipation people have when they think about the future. Anticipations they get from narratives in the paper or the news with all kinds of futures hidden in them. Such as: ‘In the near future, everybody will drive an electric car or have solar panels on their roof’. Narratives and assumptions, that often make people feel anxious because of the feeling that something different is going to happen. And because it feels good to behave towards these anticipations, we actually do so, until the next crisis comes along. The fact is that these hidden futures might influence you, but not automatically in a way that is directly related to the future you desire.’ Veenman: ‘The expected future of ‘everybody will drive electric cars’ is a good example of how we easily act on dominant assumptions in society, instead of thinking carefully about our own behavior. The image that is shown to us means that we’re all buying or want to buy electric cars. But what we are not told, is that if we actually want to create a future where everybody drives an electric car, we would need four times more cars than we have now to achieve environmental goals. Do we really want that to happen? Does that contribute to the actual sustainable goal we had? And is this possible at all?
Significant cultural construct
Mayo: ‘What we are fundamentally doing is deeply questioning assumptions and mythologies that exist within cultures with a view to helping people make better decisions. And this is relevant because the assumptions we now have about the transition to sustainability aren’t fundamentally just, ethical, equitable, and accessible for everybody. But because marketing professionals are able to convince us, we follow them. This of course has impacts on governance too. Veenman: ‘It’s about silent discourses in policies, also in The Netherlands. From people we don’t see and hear, but who have assumptions as well. We need all the futures out there perceived by different people. In my opinion, long-term thinking, or thinking about the future, should start at school. Teach children to think about what they are creating when they make a certain choice. What do you expect that will happen? Do you want that to happen? We need to include all anticipations and creations of futures in our ways of thinking. We are in the Anthropocene, we are changing the earth, so we need to think more about what we are doing.’
Will future thinking eventually be the key resolution of all problems? Mayo: ‘I don’t think the exercise of future thinking is coming up with the solution, it is simply exposing the assumptions and the biases we have before we start to talk about the future. It is more a process of uncovering and questioning: what if, what if, what if?
Future Symposium
Veenman and Mayo are not the only two ‘future thinkers’ on Radboud’s campus. A few researchers in geography, methods, psychology, and language use it as well in their disciplines. Veenman: ‘The futures field is everywhere, but really fragmented. There are a few ‘black sheep’ in different departments that think differently and are doing great things about futures, without knowing it.’ Therefore, the Environmental Governance and Politics (EGP) group and IMR TransAct Hot Spot organized a first symposium. Participants contributed to a framework that uses anticipation to reframe justice and responsibility as part of societal transformations. Through their research network called ‘Transformations, fUTures and jusTIce for Sustainability’ (TUTTIS), they are taking the next step in future thinking. Veenman: ‘It’s time to bring people together, come loose from fragmented thinking, and mature the theories and methods that are already there and stimulate synergies between people and ideas.’
Text: Annette Zonnenberg
Contact information
Want to hear and learn more about Future thinking? Please contact Sietske.veenman [at] ru.nl (Sietske[dot]veenman[at]ru[dot]nl) and or subscribe to the TUTTIS network.
- About person
- Dr S.A. Veenman (Sietske)