Imagining a future civilization: a new utopianism founded in the here and now

Abstract

Are we able to imagine and create a new civilization, a better world, in a collective act of imagination and will? Active imagination is in essence a process of reflection on possible futures that already lie dormant within the present, and a decision to pursue the most desirable option. Active imagination thus may be expected to increase the probability that a positive, chosen future will actually become manifest reality. Evidently, however, the extent of our ‘futuring’ ability is limited. We therefore need to ask, what causes these constraints and how can they be overcome? Drawing on some recent literature in the tradition of Perennial Philosophy, this paper argues that more conscious ‘fut..