Future Shock

"I think Future Shock actually did foretell the future, because it talks about how in essence we’re building a new civilisation in front of our eyes. How no group of people have ever been so shocked by the ever-changing realities that have completely altered media, lifestyles, culture and work. In some ways they were the canary that was singing about a future that they saw well before anyone quite appreciated it. Interestingly, people like Newt Gingrich have taken that understanding of fundamental – in some ways radical – change, and adapted it to a new set of ideas that aren’t the way that would necessarily serve the interests of people. But to his credit, he created a suite of ideas and institutions that are understanding the change. I think that’s a lesson for progressives – that we also need to find the new way forward, which requires new thinking, new ideas and a willingness to be transformational as opposed to traditional. Future Shock says that when people are confronted with massive change, there’s a tendency to hold on to the way things are. Institutions resist change. A leader’s job is to understand change and try to figure out a way to work with it that serves people’s interests, as opposed to thinking that people’s interests are served by resisting change. Traditional churches, unions or media who have tried to either forestall change or ignore it have paid a price."