We will always be a species on the move, a bigger tribe inhabiting a smaller world — but now it’s time to take a different path. In order to survive, we need nothing less than an evolution in thought and cooperation, a transition into becoming a responsible society. We are, after all, working towards a more human future, leaving behind centuries of expansion and rampant consumption.
If nothing else, we urge our readers to imagine how business, the economy and the world will look if we think and act inclusively in a long-term setting. Picture our world — say, a century from now — where traditional economic growth has reconnected to human and ecological goals, supporting a diverse society with wholly redefined definitions of prosperity, the basis of profit, loss, progress and value creation. This society is visibly more stable, healthier and happier as it works towards a sustainable future.
In this future, business will be celebrated for its contribution to society. Thoughtful leadership and sustained collaboration are commonplace not only within organizations, but also actively address the (notably fewer) remaining regional and global problems. Business scholars and management consultants are respected as sustainability stewards, helping build a better world through research and advice, jointly determining how organizations can develop and implement real sustainability strategies. Similarly, governments, corporations, NGOs, activists, citizens, parents and educators all contribute their knowledge on a regular basis without regard to tenure, reputation, qualifications or social standing. The best solutions, as everybody knows, are those reached by adopting a transdisciplinary approach, across all fields of expertise, age groups and cultural backgrounds. This future world includes education and research organizations which positively influence the development of society as a whole.
Places of knowledge sharing are deeply embedded in the midst of communities (much like the prototype collaboratories from the early twenty first century). These nodes are the heart of the new society: dynamic meeting spaces where ideas are born, where participants and contributors can freely express their views and share knowledge in an open environment
We may picture a world where risk-taking is encouraged, a place that is intensely alive with mutual respect, friendship, vibrant thought, insightful questions, where creativity blooms across all generations. Such a renewed, living world enables lifestyles that offer different levels of immersion between work and learning within a new and more open society.
Environmental disruption has been virtually eliminated. Once more, the world has wide tracts of untouched, high-biodiversity wilderness. The human population is finally stable. People are content, unified — but also more diverse. Its citizens are determined, passionate, argumentative but ultimately cooperative, a well-organized civilization working towards the singular goal of sustainability.
This is a world worth living in. Let us begin creating it.
