The Future Is Upon Us

T he race is on between environmental destruction on a global scale and sustainable solutions . T he finish line, in J ared D iamond's alarmed estimation, is only 50 years away . F or B ruce M au, sustainable solutions, already at hand, will win out . D iamond, too, hopes our civilization will learn from those in history who rose to their challenges and prospered, not suffer the fate of others who dithered and collapsed .     

The Shadow Our Future Throws

Because of his groundbreaking critique of mass industrial society in such books as Energy and Equity, Medical Nemesis: The Expropriation of Health, Toward a History of Needs and Deschooling Society Ivan Illich was considered a founding thinker of the alternative and ecological movements, the prophet of an "era of limits."
This conversation took place at Illich's rustic retreat in Ocotopec, Mexico, in the spring of 1989. (The title of the second chapter of Al Gore's 1992 book, The Earth in Balance is taken from this interview—"The Shadow Our Future Throws.")
Illich was no armchair witness but lived what he preached. In the early 1990s he developed a large tumor that protruded from his right temple. Claiming the right not to be a patient but to "die without diagnosis" as part of "hygienic autonomy," he was never treated, smoking opium to ease the pain over his last years. He died—without diagnosis—in 2002 in Bremen, Germany.     

Bound Together: The Future of Globalization

Globalization has indeed flattened the earth, paving the way for new beginnings and the resurgence of old cultures alike by levelling the playing field for all comers. While this new era of post‐globalization certainly heralds de‐Westernization by century's end, is it more likely to mean a revival of the old ways of the East or the new hybrid ways of the first global civilization? Some of Asia's most provocative voices, as well as the world's most renowned cellist and cross‐pollinating musician, offer their views.     

信息时代与社会主义的未来

信息时代来临之际的苏联解体和美国超强,右翼认为历史终结于资本主义,左翼则寄望于信息共产主义.信息时代的社会主义全球革命,战略重点在发达西方国家,变革手段倚重于新科技革命.信息时代社会主义的未来取决于:西方如何在信息化中实现社会变革,中国如何在信息化中实现社会发展.两者的汇流将开辟信息时代全球社会主义的新境界.