Futures studies is a new field of inquiry involving systematic and explicit thinking about alternative futures. Wendell Bell's two-volume work Foundations of Futures Studies is widely acknowledged as the fundamental work on the subject. In Volume 2, Bell goes beyond possible and probable futures to the study of preferable futures. He shows that concern with ethics, morality, and human values follows directly from the futurist purposes of discovering or inventing, examining, and proposing desirable futures. He examines moral judgments as an inescapable aspect of all decision-making and conscious action, even in the everyday lives of ordinary people.

Now available in paperback with a new preface from the author, Volume 2 of Foundations of Futures Studies moves beyond cultural relativism to critical evaluation. Bell compares depictions of the good society by utopian writers, describes objective methods of moral judgment, assesses religion and law as sources of what is morally right, documents the existence of universal human values, and shows that if human beings are to thrive in the global society of the future, some human values must be changed.

Reviews
"While the tone is sedate, Bell's ideas often strike sparks.... Bell concludes futurologists must (and sociologists should) discuss how society ought to be, because our survival depends on our soon restoring the 'good' to scientific inquiry into the human condition." - Arthur B. Shostak, Contemporary Sociology; "This book is a masterpiece! It makes an extraordinary contribution to studies of the future." - Allen Tough, University of Toronto; "A truly remarkable book, reflecting a life-long study of the future and scholarship of the highest order...visionary - in the best sense of the term." - Amitai Etzioni, George Washington University"



Book Information
ISBN 9780765805669
Author Wendell Bell
Format Paperback
Page Count 404
Imprint Transaction Publishers
Publisher Taylor & Francis Inc
Weight(grams) 544g