Issue Details: First known date: 2017... 2017 Who Owns the Future? : Techno-dreams and Progressive Cynicism
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'The future is always arriving, in one form or another. There is no no future. It's an absurdly simple point, like saying that one plus one equals two. But despite its apparent simplicity, it bears remembering because its corollary has far-reaching consequences: that the future will come regardless of our capacity to imagine and articulate a vision for it. Which in turn leads to another obvious but easily missed point: that any failure of the imagination vis- -vis the future does not prevent the future arriving, but only leaves it susceptible to the visions of others. Or, to put it another way: the future belongs to those who dare to imagine it.' (Publication abstract)

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  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Griffith Review Millennials Strike Back no. 56 May 2017 11329631 2017 periodical issue

    'Millennials are making their mark on a world that is profoundly different to the one their parents knew.

    'Millennials, those born in the final decades of the twentieth century, have had bad press for a long time. Now they are fighting back as they come of age in a world radically changed from that experienced by previous generations.

    'Even the oldest were still in primary school when the Soviet Union collapsed, when deregulation swept the West and much of the postwar consensus was jettisoned, when the Kyoto Protocol was signed and when the internet became a reality and the world shrank. They were in their teens when the World Trade Center collapsed, and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan produced a new world order; when climate-change sceptics and shock jocks poisoned public debate; when the first dot-com boom crashed, China experimented with capitalism and revived consumerism, the global financial crisis pushed capitalism to the brink, and Facebook was born.

    'The challenges this generation now face are great – political uncertainty, climate change, globalisation and economic stagnation have changed the rules of the game.

    'This is the best educated, most connected generation ever, but the world they live in does not offer easy pathways – inequality is rife and traditional doors are closed. Some millennials are detached and disillusioned, but others are coming up with innovative ideas, experimenting with new ways to live and work. Their vision and energy will shape the future.

    'This special edition of Griffith Review is devoted to the challenges and opportunities this generation is facing and embracing. It is co-edited by Julianne Schultz and Jerath Head.' (Website abstract)

    2017
    pg. 68-77
Last amended 6 Jun 2017 11:46:45
68-77 Who Owns the Future? : Techno-dreams and Progressive Cynicismsmall AustLit logo Griffith Review
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