Rethinking our shared futures

This chapter makes three arguments in support of the claim that we need inclusive deliberative processes to shape the future in collectively intentional, mutually accommodating ways. First, inclusive collective decision-making processes are needed to avoid futures that favour the interests of some groups of people over others. Second, deliberative processes are needed to shape our shared futures in collectively intentional ways: we need to be able to talk to ourselves about what we are doing and where we want to get to in the future. Third, deliberative exchanges are needed to help collectivities avoid the policy oscillations that are (or may be) associated with the political dynamics of short electoral cycles. Effective processes of reciprocal reason giving can help collectivities maintain policy continuity over the long term—when continuity is justified—even as governments and generations change.

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Shared Futures: Early Career Academics in English Studies

English: Shared Futures ◽

10.1017/9781787443297.009 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 64-72

Author(s):

Clara Jones ◽

Clare Egan ◽

Elizabeth English ◽

Ilse A. Ras ◽

Stephen Watkins

Keyword(s):

Early Career ◽

English Studies ◽

Shared Futures

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English: Shared Futures

10.1017/9781787443297 ◽

2018 ◽

Keyword(s):

Shared Futures

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Serving Higher Purposes: University Mergers in Post-Apartheid South Africa

10.18820/9781928480877 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Ihron Rensburg

Keyword(s):

South African ◽

Visionary Leadership ◽

Social Entrepreneur ◽

University Mergers ◽

Solid Foundation ◽

Shared Futures ◽

Teaching Learning ◽

The University ◽

Creativity And Innovation ◽

Meaningful Role

"Universities of the 21st century and beyond must be about teaching, learning, research excellence, creativity and innovation as much as they must be about enabling the destiny of students, communities and nations to realize their potential. UJ succeeded in her vision and responsibilities to transform the divisions, prejudices and limitations that often restrain the advancement of society. The story of UJ’s transition to an inclusive, diverse, dynamic, bold and purposeful institution of learning demands to be read by everyone, South African, African and beyond. It is a story of how to be an object rather than the subject of history, while dynamically shaping our shared futures, laying a solid foundation for future generations to be advocates and architects for social change and cohesion. It is a story of courageous and visionary leadership. The book offers our nation profound lessons in leadership that should enrich all our efforts to transform institutions in a sustainable way, to play a meaningful role in building ONE NATION. - DR WENDY LUHABE, Economic Activist, Social Entrepreneur, First Chancellor of the University of Johannesburg "

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Shared Futures:

English: Shared Futures ◽

10.2307/j.ctv1ntjh4.14 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 64-72

Author(s):

CLARA JONES ◽

CLARE EGAN ◽

ELIZABETH ENGLISH ◽

ILSE A. RAS ◽

STEPHEN WATKINS

Keyword(s):

Shared Futures

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Future Publics

10.1093/oso/9780197557150.001.0001 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Michael K. MacKenzie

Keyword(s):

Disaster Preparedness ◽

Conventional Wisdom ◽

Budget Deficits ◽

Short Term ◽

Decision Making Processes ◽

Critical Scrutiny ◽

Shared Futures ◽

Democratic Systems ◽

Infrastructure Maintenance

This book challenges the idea that democratic processes are functionally short-sighted. Many observers assume that long-term issues will be ignored or discounted in democratic systems because of the myopic preferences of voters, the political dynamics of short electoral cycles, the exclusion (or absence) of future others in decision-making processes, and the reality that democratic processes are often captured by powerful actors with dominant short-term interests. The evidence is clear: we have poorly managed many long-term issues, including climate change, nuclear waste disposal, plastics pollution, natural disaster preparedness, infrastructure maintenance, and budget deficits. This idea—which Michael K. MacKenzie calls the “democratic myopia thesis”—is a sort of conventional wisdom: It is one of those things that scholars and pundits take for granted as a truth about democracy without subjecting it to adequate critical scrutiny. This book challenges this conventional wisdom and articulates a deliberative, democratic theory of future-regarding collective action. It is argued that each part of the democratic myopia problem can be addressed through democratic—rather than authoritarian—means. At a more fundamental level, the book argues that if democratic practices are world-making activities that empower us to make our shared worlds together, they should also be understood as future-making activities. Despite the short-term dynamics associated with electoral democracy, MacKenzie argues that inclusive and deliberative democratic processes are the only means we have for making our shared futures together in collectively intentional, mutually accommodating ways.

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