Papers by Dennis Morgan
World Futures Review, 2017
For the past three years, while teaching an Introduction to Global Futures Studies course at the ... more For the past three years, while teaching an Introduction to Global Futures Studies course at the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (Seoul, Korea), the “Innovations/Issues Change Tracking and Forecasting Term Project” has been an essential component of the course. This group project (5-7 in a group) includes individual reports and presentations divided into three sections: (1) past changes, (2) present changes, and (3) forecasts of three to five scenarios. Progressive stages of the project are based on research assignments, which are foresight exercises that build upon each other: (1) online environmental scanning—where students scan online for STEEP (Social–Technological–Economical-Environmental–Political) innovations and issues to consider for the project; (2) change tracking of the selected innovation/issue—where changes are tracked from origin to present within a 5-25 year time range; (3) present time change tracking—where students research and analyze recent impacts and chang...
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Foresight, 2015
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Foresight, 2015
Purpose – The aim of this paper is to test and explore the hypothesis global ruling power, as wel... more Purpose – The aim of this paper is to test and explore the hypothesis global ruling power, as well as review the six approaches featured in the special edition on global governance/ruling power. Design/methodology/approach – Anthropological and historical records are presented as support for the emergence of ruling power in society; moreover, evidence of global ruling governance/power is reviewed in the six papers featured in the special edition. Findings – Alternatives for global governance are reviewed in two papers, while four papers present evidence in support of the thesis of the emergence of a transnational ruling power/class. Research limitations/implications – Because global ruling power exists informally and surreptitiously, the exact mechanisms of control are difficult to delineate, especially due to the fact that the Powers that Be spend much effort to block research into this area; however, this special edition opens up a promising area for new research efforts into glob...
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Futures, 2015
Abstract F. Polak and K. Mannheim's reconceptualization of the role of the utopist as a radic... more Abstract F. Polak and K. Mannheim's reconceptualization of the role of the utopist as a radical/revolutionary who acts to shatter present reality and reconstruct it according to a vision of the future is evaluated in the light of K. Popper's critique of utopian engineering; also, Popper's proposal of piecemeal engineering is critiqued and found deficient. Polak's thesis of a vital image of the future is tested on the basis of J. B. Bury's idea of progress and found to be modern-born. The historic roots of the dominant utopian image of the future (within the idea of progress) are clarified as the technological/consumer society within industrial civilization. However, as this modern thesis become dystopic, an antithesis, in the form of utopian socialism, emerged to contend with the dominant utopian image of the future throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. The dialectical struggle between contending utopic images of the future within the idea of progress brought about the progressivesocialist synthesis, which in turn, opposed by reactionary neoliberalism (a “counter-utopia), has realized a new, postmodern thesis – as global sustainable development – a reconstructed, 21st century utopian image of the future.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
On the Horizon, 2013
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to expand upon one theme in Richard Slaughter's The Bigge... more PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to expand upon one theme in Richard Slaughter's The Biggest Wake Up Call in History (BWCH) – that of the “collective shadow.”Design/methodology/approachAlong with Slaughter, the author contends that the denialism indicative of strong negative reactions to the publication of Limits to Growth since 1972 is part of a larger problem within the collective psyche that must be understood and confronted.FindingsFor the first time in history, largely due to the emergence of global consciousness and, more recently, the advent of the internet, it is conceivable that authentic global democracy could emerge as an alternate network power, which challenges the structural criminality within the collective shadow, as well as the secret rule of the Empire Power Elite.Originality/valueThis paper exposes structural criminality within the collective shadow, its relationship to the advent of disaster capitalism, and its role in the emergence of a global ruling class.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Futures, 2011
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Futures, 2012
Abstract Prospects for a nonkilling world/future are primarily based upon the research of Dr. Gle... more Abstract Prospects for a nonkilling world/future are primarily based upon the research of Dr. Glenn Paige and others who have laid the groundwork for the image of a nonkilling future. In this paper, I first investigate archaeological sources to determine whether an historical basis can also be established as a real-world starting point for the nonkilling image of the future to emerge. From archaeological and anthropological sources, I contend that a mostly nonkilling world did indeed exist from approximately 5000 to 3000 B.C. and quite likely throughout much of prehistory; nevertheless, the age of “Empire” emerged and brought about the rise and fall of civilizations, which, almost without exception, embraced killing and war as perceived necessities for growth, expansion, occupation, domination, and social control. The same pattern has only intensified in the modern era through technological developments of the weapons of war, which have become so lethal and ubiquitous that they threaten the future of humanity, thus representing the self-destructive, civilizational challenge and crisis that Paige and others are responding to. In the context of such lethality, as well as the autonomous nature of technical civilization, I question whether the modern image of the future is capable of embracing the image of a nonkilling future and conclude by identifying this nonkilling image of the future from a postmodern rather than modern origin and perspective. Finally, I examine the leadership role of the postmodern, creative minority to realize a nonkilling future and conclude that a nonkilling world/future can only emerge through the transformation of consciousness in a paradigm shift from Global Empire to Earth Community.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Futures, 2002
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Foresight, 2009
PurposeThis paper aims to expand on the findings of the SOPIFF project by identifying eight futur... more PurposeThis paper aims to expand on the findings of the SOPIFF project by identifying eight futures schools of thought, and then analyze and critique these through the integral futures (IF) framework. This paper, Part I, also aims to focus on the upper quadrants of the IF framework.Design/methodology/approachThe paper adapts Wilber's integral theory to clarify various philosophical orientations towards the future. It also adapts Polak's approach to futures as a matter of “social critique and reconstruction”; however, here the approach is global, civilizational, and integral, so it proposes civilizational critique and integral reconstruction as a method for evaluating futures schools of thought.FindingsThe IF framework has proved to be a valuable theoretical and analytical tool since it clarifies not only orientations to the future but also demonstrates the dynamic lines of development and interactions throughout all four quadrants, illustrating how the four‐quadrant approach...
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
foresight, 2008
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to clarify the role of American culture in social foresigh... more Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to clarify the role of American culture in social foresight as practiced by American futurists. It also seeks to describe how American culture has been expropriated by corporate culture, which is global. Finally, the paper seeks to depict various scenarios of the future of the USA and to consider an imperative of
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Foresight, 2010
PurposeExpanding on the findings of the SOPIFF research project, this paper aims to identify eigh... more PurposeExpanding on the findings of the SOPIFF research project, this paper aims to identify eight futures schools of thought, which are analyzed and critiqued through an integral framework. As “Part II” of a previous publication, it seeks to focus on the lower (plural) quadrants.Design/methodology/approachThe paper adapts Ken Wilber's integral theory to clarify various philosophical orientations to the future. It also adapts Fredrich Polak's approach to futures as a matter of “social critique and reconstruction”; however, the approach is global, civilizational, and integral, so it proposes civilizational critique and integral reconstruction as a method for evaluating futures schools of thought.FindingsThe IF framework is found to be a valuable theoretical and analytical tool for clarifying images of the future; it shows lines of development within each quadrant and interactions between quadrants, illustrating the effectiveness of the four‐quadrant approach.Research limitati...
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Teaching Documents by Dennis Morgan
These are the power points for my presentation at the 2nd Annual Conference on Foresight in Athen... more These are the power points for my presentation at the 2nd Annual Conference on Foresight in Athens, Greece, from June 20-23 of 2016. They are based on a yet published manuscript (currently under review) by the same name.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Uploads
Papers by Dennis Morgan
Teaching Documents by Dennis Morgan