This important Manifesto argues that we still need a concept ofsociety in order to make sense of the forces which structure ourlives. Written by leading social theorist William Outhwaite Asks if the notion of society is relevant in the twenty-firstcentury Goes to the heart of contemporary social and politicaldebate Examines critiques of the concept of society from neoliberals,postmodernists, and globalization theorists

Consumer society in the United States and other countries is receding due to demographic ageing, rising income inequality, political paralysis, and resource scarcity. At the same time, steady jobs that compensate employees on a salaried or hourly basis are being replaced by freelancing and contingent work. The rise of the so-called sharing economy, the growth of do-it-yourself production, and the spreading popularity of economic localization are evidence that people are striving to find new ways to ensure livelihoods for themselves and their families in the face of profound change. Indications are that we are at the early stages of a transition away from a system of social organization predicated on consumerism. These developments have prompted some policy makers to suggest providing households with a non-labor source of income that would enable more adequate satisfaction of their basic needs. These proposals include a universal basic income, a citizen's dividend, and a legal framework for broad-based stock ownership in corporations. However, extreme political fractiousness makes it unlikely that these recommendations will receive prompt and widespread legislative endorsement in most countries. In the meantime, we seem to be moving incontrovertibly toward a twenty-first century version of feudalism. How might we chart a different path founded on social inclusiveness and economic security? A practicable option entails establishment of networks of interlinked worker-consumer cooperatives that organizationally unify production and consumer. Such modes of mutual assistance already exist and The Future of Consumer Society profiles several successful examples from around the world. If replicated and scaled, worker-consumer cooperatives could smooth the transition beyond consumer society and facilitate a future premised on sufficiency, resiliency, and well-being.

Concerns itself with the future of sociology, and of all social science. The thirteen authors—among them Wendell Bell, Kai T. Erikson, Scott Greer, Robert Boguslaw, James Mau, and Ivar Oxaal—are oriented toward a redefinition of the role of the social scientist as advisor to policymakers and administrators in all major areas of social concern, for the purpose of studying and shaping the future. This book contains research strategies for such "futurologistic" study, theories on its merits and dangers, as well as an annotated bibliography of social science studies of the future.

Society to an information Society

This book offers historical and comparative analyses of changes in agrarian society forced by the globalization of capitalism, and the implications of these changes for human welfare globally. The book gives special attention to recent economic development and urbanization in the People s Republic of China which have had a major impact on contemporary transformations globally. Case studies from South and Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America in turn place these transformations in a comparative global perspective. The contributors include distinguished scholars from the UN, PRC, India, Zimbabwe, and Latin America who are also active in policy issues."

Social Banking describes a way of value-driven banking that has a positive social and ecological impact at its heart, as well as its own economic sustainability. Although it has a long and successful history, it has arguably never been more topical than it is now in the aftermath of the latest financial crisis. Most Social Banks came out of this crisis not only unscathed but much stronger and bigger than they were before. And contrary to their conventional peers, none of the Social Banks had to be bailed out with public funds. This increasingly attracts the interest not only of clients searching for safe and sensible ways to deposit their funds but also of conventional banks that begin to understand the potential of a more socially oriented approach towards banking. Social Banks and the Future of Sustainable Finance is the first book to deliver a comprehensive and detailed overview about the past, present and possible future of Social and Sustainable Banking for researchers, students and a professional audience. The authors are experts from research and practice and have bee involved in Social Banking for many years. Thus they combine state-of-the-art expertise with valuable insider knowledge. The book covers the following topics: the history of Social Banking, the need for Social Banking in the current economy, the particular issues of managing a Social Bank as business enterprise, Social Banking products and services, the special role of donations and foundations for financing change, the opportunities and challenges for Social Banks lying ahead, and concrete directions for the future of Social Banking. In addition to these respective analyses are many real-world examples and interviews with representatives of Social Banks. As such, this comprehensive collection delivers valuable insights for academics, students and professionals who are interested in the growing field of Social Banking.

Across generations and genres, comics have imagined different views of the future, from unattainable utopias to worrisome dystopias. These presaging narratives can be read as reflections of their authors' (and readers') hopes, fears and beliefs about the present. This collection of new essays explores the creative processes in comics production that bring plausible futures to the page. The contributors investigate portrayals in different stylistic traditions--manga, bande desinees--from a variety of theoretical perspectives. The picture that emerges documents the elaborate storylines and complex universes comics creators have been crafting for decades.

In The Future of Art in a Postdigital Age, artist and educator Mel Alexenberg offers a vision of a postdigital future that reveals a paradigm shift from the Hellenistic to the Hebraic roots of Western culture. He ventures beyond the digital to explore postdigital perspectives rising from creative encounters among art, science, technology and human consciousness. The interrelationships between these perspectives demonstrate the confluence between postdigital art and the dynamic, Jewish structure of consciousness. Alexenberg’s pioneering artwork – a fusion of spiritual and technological realms – exemplifies the theoretical thesis of this investigation into interactive and collaborative forms that imaginatively envisages the vast potential of art in a postdigital future.