Discounting the Future

Futures ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 379-394
Author(s):  
Liliana Doganova
Keyword(s):  
Pharmaceutical Research ◽  
Capital Budgeting ◽  
The Political ◽  
Allocation Of Resources ◽  
Collective Decisions ◽  
The Future ◽  
History Of ◽  
Political Technology ◽  
Pharmaceutical Research And Development ◽  
Economic Instrument

This chapter analyses the political, environmental, and human implications of acts of discounting. Discounting is an economic instrument used by companies and policymakers to make the future commensurate with the present. This chapter argues that discounting is a political technology: it embeds debatable assumptions about value and the future, and it produces tangible effects in an expanding range of empirical domains. Drawing on examples from the history of discounting (capital budgeting, forest management, environmental regulation, and pharmaceutical research and development), the chapter discusses four of its political qualities. First, discounting equips collective decisions about the allocation of resources; second, it shapes the characteristics of future entities; third, it is an instrument for governing behaviour that guides decision-making in a myriad of places and instances; and fourth, it problematizes the very separation of the present and the future.

The time that money requires: Use of the future and critique of the present in financial valuation

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 95-113
Author(s):  
Fabian Muniesa ◽  
Liliana Doganova
Keyword(s):  
Investment Decisions ◽  
Financial Valuation ◽  
The Future ◽  
History Of ◽  
Future Value ◽  
Philosophical Implication ◽  
Sociology Of Finance ◽  
Uncertain Future ◽  
Political Technology

The future is persistently considered in the sociology of finance from two divergent, problematic angles. The first approach consists in supplementing financial reasoning with an acknowledgement of the expectations that are needed in order to cope with an uncertain future and justify the viability of investment decisions. The second approach, often labelled critical, sees on the contrary in the logic of finance a negation of the future and an exacerbation of the valuation of the present. This is an impasse the response to which resides, we suggest, in considering the language of future value, which is indeed inherent to a financial view on things, as a political technology. We develop this argument through an examination of significant episodes in the history of financial reasoning on future value. We explore a main philosophical implication which consists in suggesting that the medium of temporality, understood in the dominant sense of a temporal progression inside which projects and expectations unfold, is not a condition for but rather a consequence of the idea of financial valuation.

scholarly journals Prvih 20 godina časopisa National Security and the Future

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 7-52
Author(s):  
Miroslav Tuđman
Keyword(s):  
National Security ◽  
Critical Infrastructure ◽  
The Political ◽  
Fake News ◽  
The Past ◽  
Clear Vision ◽  
Information Operations ◽  
The Future ◽  
History Of

The author gives an overview of the history of National Security and the Future (NSF). The first editorial board accepted a clear vision and mission of the NSF. That is why the NSF had to react to the political circumstances in which the journal has operated for 20 years. In the first period, international circumstances and the policy of detuđmanization directly influenced the choice of topics and papers published in the journal. For the past five years, the NSF has paid particular attention to the security of national and European critical infrastructure. A total of 257 texts were published on more than 8,000 pages and authored by 134 authors from 25 countries. The NSF has published studies on historical forgery, information operations, production of "fake news" and contributions to the theory and methodology of intelligence activities.

scholarly journals Democratization of Mazhabiyyah and Reconciliation of Politics

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 163
Author(s):  
Achmad Fawaid
Keyword(s):  
Religion And Politics ◽  
Colonial Period ◽  
The Political ◽  
Japanese Occupation ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Political Conflicts ◽  
The Future ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Religious Thoughts

In the history of Indonesia’s struggle to reach its independence, soldiers, scholars, and students had played great roles. Islamic figures such as Ulama’ and santri were among those heroes with notable contributions. Although many are not recognized regarding its huge numbers, some has nailed their names nationally for their influential political and religious thoughts. This article tries to explore the political and religious thoughts’ of Abdul Wahid Hasyim’s contribution to the establishment of Islam in Indonesia and the establishment of the Republic of Indonesia. His involvement since the Dutch colonial period, the Japanese occupation, until the independence, shows a santri’s struggle for national independence. The result shows that in the context of religion and politics, there are some interesting thoughts delivered by Abdul Wachid Hasyim. His writings on both aspects, religion and politics, predominantly reflect efforts to democratizing different mazhab which led to the modernization of Mazhabiyyah. Wahid Hasyim tried to democratize mazhabiyah differences which previously often cause conflicts and disintegration among Muslims. Wahid Hasyim believes that mazhabiyah differences cannot be obstacles for the unity of the Muslims. On the contrary, these differences can be reformulated to be transformed into a greater concept for the future of Islam. Moreover, he brought about the importance of reconciling political thoughts which can spread unity to the Muslims and Indonesia as a nation. Indonesian Muslims were no longer disintegrated simply due to political issues. He also struggled to reconcile political conflicts involving Muslims and non-Muslims in Indonesia. KeywordsDemocratization, Mazhabiyyah, Reconciliation of politics

Is the Senior Executive Service Viable?

1989 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 355-373
Author(s):  
Frank D. Ferris
Keyword(s):  
Political History ◽  
The Political ◽  
Senior Executive ◽  
Senior Executive Service ◽  
Federal Sector ◽  
Political Forces ◽  
The Future ◽  
History Of

This article traces the political history of the federal sector Senior Executive Service, evaluates the current SES structure, and offers some observations as to whether it is viable given the political forces with which it must deal. Predictions are made then made as to how the SES will change in the future.

The Knights of Labor and the Trade Unions, 1878–1886

1958 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 176-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald N. Grob
Keyword(s):  
Labor Movement ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
The State ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Arena ◽  
Half Century ◽  
The Future ◽  
History Of ◽  
American Labor Movement ◽  
American Labor

The year 1886 was destined to be a crucial one in the history of the American labor movement. The eight-hour crusade, the numerous strikes, the Haymarket bomb, the entrance of workingmen into the political arena at the state and national levels, and the mushroom growth of labor organizations all contributed to the agitation and excitement of the year. Yet the importance of these events was overshadowed by a development that was to have such far-reaching implications that it would determine the future of the labor movement for the succeeding half century. That development was the declaration of war by the trade unions against the reform unionism of the Knights of Labour.

scholarly journals The Political Economy of Debt and Entitlements

2020 ◽  
Vol 87 (6) ◽  
pp. 2568-2599 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurent Bouton ◽  
Alessandro Lizzeri ◽  
Nicola Persico
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Capital Market ◽  
Economic Model ◽  
Fiscal Rules ◽  
Market Frictions ◽  
The Political ◽  
Allocation Of Resources ◽  
The Future ◽  
Political Economic

Abstract This article presents a dynamic political-economic model of total government obligations. Its focus is on the interplay between debt and entitlements. In our model, both are tools by which temporarily powerful groups can extract resources from groups that will be powerful in the future: debt transfers resources across periods; entitlements directly target the future allocation of resources. We prove the following results. First, the presence of endogenous entitlements dampens the incentives of politically powerful groups to accumulate debt, but it leads to an increase in total government obligations. Second, fiscal rules can have perverse effects: if entitlements are unconstrained, and there are capital market frictions, debt limits lead to an increase in total government obligations and to worse outcomes for all groups. Analogous results hold for entitlement limits. Third, our model sheds some lights on the influence of capital market frictions on the incentives of governments to adopt fiscal rules, and implement entitlement programs. Finally, we identify preference polarization as a possible explanation for the joint growth of debt and entitlements.

scholarly journals Wielokulturowość: lekcje przeszłości

2016 ◽  
pp. 245-250
Author(s):  
Jan Surman
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Cultural Studies ◽  
Central Europe ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The Political ◽  
Central European ◽  
European Experience ◽  
The Future ◽  
History Of

Multiculturalism: lessons from the pastReview: Understanding Multiculturalism. The Habsburg Central European Experience, ed. Johannes Feichtinger, Gary B. Cohen, Berghahn, Oxford–New York, 2014 (Austrian and Habsburg Studies 17), pp. 246While recently the concept of multiculturalism has been an object of strong criticism from the political side, the book under review takes another turn scrutinizing and historicizing it. Looking at Central Europe through the lenses of nonessentialism, postcolonialism or national indifference, multiple authors propose not only new ways of reading the history of the region, but also of establishing categories for the future research in historical cultural studies. Wielokulturowość: lekcje przeszłościRecenzja: Understanding Multiculturalism. The Habsburg Central European Experience, red. Johannes Feichtinger, Gary B. Cohen, Berghahn, Oxford–New York, 2014 (Austrian and Habsburg Studies 17), ss. 246.Podczas gdy koncept wielokulturowości był w ostatnim czasie obiektem mocnej krytyki, szczególnie ze strony polityki, recenzowana książka obiera inną pozycję, analizując i historyzując go. Spoglądając na Europe Środkową z użyciem nieesecjalizujących czy postkolonialnych koncepcji, autorzy proponują nie tylko nowe sposoby odczytania historii regionu, lecz także nowe kategorie dla przyszłych badań historii kulturowej.

scholarly journals A Olímpica 12 de Píndaro: tradução e comentário

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-142
Author(s):  
Gustavo Henrique Montes Frade
Keyword(s):  
Political History ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Human Action ◽  
The Political ◽  
The Future ◽  
History Of

Abstract: This study proposes an interpretation of Pindar’s Olympian 12 with particular attention to the theme of contingency (according to Aristotle, “that which may be otherwise”) in relation to human action. As the course of the athlete’s life and of the political history of Himera, the poem and its water images move through uncertainties and reach the accomplishment. Although Pindar recognizes the risks of hope, he shows how the constant variations of human life and the impossibility of knowing the future can result in a positive reversion of conditions in which an adverse situation leads to achievement, even when it is unlikely.

scholarly journals The Idea of a European Union in the Interwar Period

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 24
Author(s):  
Adrian-Stelian Dumitru
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Interwar Period ◽  
Political History ◽  
The Political ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Federalist ◽  
The Future ◽  
History Of

The study of the political history of European construction is particularly important to explain the context in which the first institutional nuclei of European integration appeared. This paper identifies the main contributions from the interwar period to the project of a united Europe and their role in defining the process of creating the future European Union. The paper analyzes two main federalist projects namely "Pan-Europe" and "Briand initiative", looking at the similarities between them and at the elements prefigured by the two Europeanists of the federalist movement which are found in the current political-institutional configuration of the European Union. I conclude that Coudenhove-Kalergi and Aristide Briand’s proposals still represents, after 90 years since their drafting, core principles and values we recognise today in the European Union of 2020.

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