The future and its enemies : in defense of political hope

153 Pages·2012·1.72 MB·English, Spanish

by  Kingery, Sandra, Innerarity, Daniel

praise for The Future and Its Enemies
“Thanks to its clear analyses and its multiple avenues of inquiry,
this essay points the way to a new democratic lucidity.”
—Pierre Rosanvallon, Libération
“The future no longer holds meaning for societies in thrall to
the present. And in this present devoid of meaning, we have as
much trouble accepting the legacy of the past as we do envisaging
collective action that would take us beyond ourselves. We’re obsessed
by the here and now and incapable of making plans that would
engage us and the future of society as a whole. Without a vision of
what is yet to come, and without the will to endow it with meaning,
we are reduced to the insignificance of our moment, that of a
present ignorant of both its past and future.”
—Dominque Schnapper, EHESS
“In this fascinating inquiry into how our image of the future
has changed and into the consequences of this modification for
democracy, Innerarity explores the challenges of post-heroic politics
and the prospect for reclaiming hope as part of transformative
politics. The Future and Its Enemies enriches our democratic
imagination with new vistas.”
—Alessandro Ferrara, University of Rome
“As we have increasingly accelerated our transformation of the
present, the future has slowly disappeared. Daniel Innerarity ferrets
out this future. Against those who define themselves as postmodern,
he discovers a world of hope and of controlled transformations.
After so many ideologies and somber philosophies that forbid us any
future, Daniel Innerarity allows us, and even imposes upon us, an
optimism that is also our freedom.”
—Alain Touraine, EHESS

Cultural Memory
in
the
Present
Mieke Bal and Hent de Vries, Editors

The FuTure and ITs enemIes
In Defense of Political Hope
daniel Innerarity
Translated by Sandra Kingery
stanford university press
stanford, california
stanford university Press
stanford, California
english translation ©2012 by the Board of Trustees of the Leland stanford Junior
university. all rights reserved.
The Future and Its Enemies was originally published in spanish under the title
El futuro y sus enemigos © daniel Innerarity, 2009. © ediciones Paidós, 2009.
avda. diagonal 662–664, Barcelona 08034 (spain).
This work has been published with a subsidy
from the directorate General of Books, archives
and Libraries of the spanish ministry of Culture.
no part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system without the prior written permission of
stanford university Press.
Printed in the united states of america on acid-free, archival-quality paper
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data
Innerarity, daniel, 1959- author.
[Futuro y sus enemigos. english]
The future and its enemies : in defense of political hope / daniel Innerarity ;
translated by sandra Kingery.
pages cm--(Cultural memory in the present)
Translation of: el futuro y sus enemigos / daniel Innerarity. Barcelona : Paidós,
2009.
Includes bibliographical references.
IsBn 978-0-8047-7556-4 (cloth : alk. paper)--IsBn 978-0-8047-7557-1 (pbk. :
alk. paper)
1. Political science--Philosophy. 2. Future, The--Political aspects. 3. social pre-
diction. I. Kingery, sandra, 1964- translator. II. Title. III. series: Cultural memory
in the present.
Ja71.I55513 2012
320.01--dc23 2012007611
Typeset by Bruce Lundquist in 11/13.5 adobe Garamond
To my brother Pablo,
who hopes no longer,
who now simply awaits our arrival

Contents
Introduction: The Future Taken seriously 1
1. The Future of democratic societies:
a Theory of Intergenerational Justice 7
2. The Temporal Landscape of Contemporary society:
a Theory of acceleration 23
3. how do We Know the Future?
a Theory of Future studies 34
4. how Is the Future decided?
a Theory of decision 49
5. Who Is in Charge of the Future?
a Theory of responsibility 64
6. Chronopolitics:
a Theory of social rhythm 77
7. Politics in a Post-heroic society:
a Theory of Political Contingency 90
8. The Political Construction of Collective hope 108
Bibliography 127