I felt both happy and frustrated with the book.
I liked that he made heroes of the elderly, the
marginalized, the entrepreneurial, and was upbe-
at. However, as an introduction to futures studies
and foresight thinking, I think it fell short on four
counts. First, by embedding all the scenarios in
a single larger narrative, it suggests a singular
future. Second, from an alternative futures pers-
pective, it seems more like ‘Business As Usual’
than either a green or technology transformation
society. Third, it seems to be more about ‘the
future’ as Tankersley sees it, rather than a tool for
lay people to explore ‘the tapestry of the future’.
Last, it addresses some trends, but does not offer
deeper dives into cultural and paradigmatic possi-
bilities for change.
I was frustrated because it felt like I was being
presented with “feel good” stories that tried to
make me feel better about many of the transfor-
mative and disruptive forces of change unfolding
around us. It is still, to a great extent, a familiar
Continued Growth future with capitalist, liberal
democracy, and Western values. There is nothing
wrong with that, except that I suspect the actual
futures will look radically different. So, my big-
gest problem with the book is that it does not
explore much beyond the current paradigm and
worldview that we are locked into. By providing a
singular future, it violates one of the basic rules of
futures studies: the future cannot be predicted—
rather there is a range of
possible alternative futures.
To his credit, some of the
scenarios suggest those
paradigms, but still seem to
be embedded in the status quo.
My biggest complaint was that he used Archie’s
apologies as a literary device to connect the sto-
ries. I found the aging/uploaded capitalist difficult
to relate to. It represents the 1% and privilege,
and contrasts with the ideas of abundance, sus-
tainability, and cooperative economics ideas
introduced in the narrative. I found it difficult to
accept that industrial capitalism might be elimi-
nated by entrepreneurialism. While a reasonable
bootstrap literary device, it struck me as naïve.
Similarly, the glorification of the gig economy,
even if reimagined, still fails to address the need
for a social safety net—at least in the USA, where
this seems to be situated.
The author also acknowledges the threat to the
future imposed by global climate change but
does not adequately address how individual
attention to our carbon footprints will be able to
overcome the considerable structural and policy
frameworks that continue to support the phar-
maceutical, chemical, military- industrial complex,
and the fossil fuel industries. At least Tankersley
offers hope.
By providing a singular future, it violates
one of the basic rules of futures studies: the
future cannot be predicted—rather there is
a range of possible alternative futures.
-Christopher Jones
70 HF |
April 2019
Book Review
by Mark Sackler
Association of Professional Futurists (APF)
“Sustainable Superabundance: A Universal Transhumanist Invitation.”
Author: David Wood, 2019
Delta Wisdom
I
s indefinite extension of human life expectancy possible?
If it’s possible, should we do it? Should we enhance human
capabilities in the process? If we do all this, can we manage
our already strained sustainability issues in a world where
transhuman people rarely die?
For David Wood, long time chair of the London Futurists, the
answer to all these questions is a resounding yes. In a fol-
low-up to his 2016 volume, The Abolition of Aging, he gives
a cogent and detailed accounting of a range of challenges
and how they could be dealt with, to provide a superabun-
dance not only of material, but also of just about everything
else human beings need to thrive.
From energy and food, to materials, health, intelligence and
even creativity, he provides us with his vision of how we can
make a better world in a transhumanist future. Of course,
there is a tone of optimism here, as the very first sentence
From energy and food, to materials, health,
intelligence and even creativity, he provides
us with his vision of how we can make a
better world in a transhumanist future.
-Mark Sackler
HF | Human Futures 71