How to Re-imagine the World: A Pocket Guide for Practical Visionaries (New Society Publishers)

Who says that all possible social and political systems have already been invented? Or that work—or marriage, or environmentalism, or anything else—must be just what they are now? This book is a conceptual toolbox for imagining and initiating radical social change. Chapters offer specific, focused, and shareable techniques: Seeking a Whole Vision: Creating a pull and not just a push toward change Generative Thinking: Looking for “Seeds” and “Sparks”, Stretching and Twisting Ideas, and Going Two Steps Too Far Looking for Unexpected Openings: “Weeds” and “Wild Cards,” Inside Tracks, Leverage Points, and Hidden Possibilities Working at the Roots: Reconstructing the built world, cultural practices, even worldviews Building Momentum: Playing to our Strengths, Reclaiming the Language, “Allying Everywhere,” Doing it Now, Going for Broke Leap-frogging new kinds of cars and better mass transit in turn, why not a world in which “transportation” itself is unneeded? What about remaking New Orleans as a floating city, or putting only extreme surfers in the path of hurricanes? And why not dream of the stars? The question is not whether radical change is coming. It is already well underway. The only question is who will make it. Why not us? Anthony Weston is a professor of philosophy at Elon University in North Carolina, where he teaches ethics, environmental studies, and “Millennial Imagination.” He is the author of ten other books, including Back to Earth, Jobs for Philosophers, and Creativity for Critical Thinkers. A guide to BIG ideas — to reawakening the radical imagination for social transformation. Who says that all possible social and political systems have already been invented? Or that work -- or marriage, or environmentalism, or anything else -- must be just what they are now? This book is a conceptual toolbox for imagining and initiating radical social change. Chapters offer specific, focused, and shareable techniques: Seeking a Whole Vision: creating a pull and not just a push toward change. Generative thinking: Looking for'Seeds'and'Sparks', Stretching and Twisting Ideas, and Going Two Steps Too Far. Looking for Unexpected Openings:'Weeds'and'Wild Cards', Inside Tracks, Leverage Points, and Hidden Possibilities. Working at the Roots: Reconstructing the built world, cultural practices, even worldviews. Building Momentum: Playing to our Strengths; Reclaiming the Language;'Allying Everywhere'; Doing it Now, Going for Broke... Leap-frogging new kinds of cars and better mass transit in turn, why not a world in which'transportation'itself is unneeded? What about remaking New Orleans as a floating city, or putting only extreme surfers in the path of hurricanes? And why not dream of the stars? The question is not whether radical change is coming. It is already well underway. The only question is who will make it. Why not us? Who says that all possible social and political systems have already been invented? Or that workor marriage, or environmentalism, or anything elsemust be just what they are now? This book is a conceptual toolbox for imagining and initiating radical social change. Chapters offer specific, focused, and shareable Leap-frogging new kinds of cars and better mass transit in turn, why not a world in which transportation itself is unneeded? What about remaking New Orleans as a floating city, or putting only extreme surfers in the path of hurricanes? And why not dream of the stars? The question is not whether radical change is coming. It is already well underway. The only question is who will make it. Why not us? Anthony Weston is a professor of philosophy at Elon University in North Carolina, where he teaches ethics, environmental studies, and Millennial Imagination. He is the author of ten other books, including Back to Earth , Jobs for Philosophers , and Creativity for Critical Thinkers . Introduction: Got possibilities?......Page 10 1. Work from a vision......Page 18 2. Work from a whole vision......Page 24 3. Seeds......Page 32 4. Sparks......Page 36 5. Stretches......Page 40 6. Twists......Page 46 7. “The problem is the solution”......Page 52 8. What’s the next step?......Page 58 9. Inside tracks......Page 66 10. Leverage points......Page 72 11.Weeds......Page 76 12.Wild cards......Page 80 13. Hidden possibilities......Page 86 14. Rebuild from the ground up......Page 94 15. Cultures and practices......Page 100 16.Worldviews......Page 104 17. Play to your strengths......Page 112 18. Reclaim the language......Page 118 19.More new words......Page 124 20. Ally everywhere......Page 130 21. The Tao of change......Page 136 22. Do it now......Page 140 23. Go for broke......Page 144 Afterword......Page 148 Notes......Page 152 This guide to creative thinking in service of radical social transformation highlights practical techniques and examples for revisioning our world, offered in the conviction that ordinary people, working together, can begin to reenvision the world in unexpected and dramatic ways