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Governing the Future by Derek Wallace is now available from The Humanities series.

Since the Second World War, state administrations of all stripes have sought social stability by privileging the economic – first, through central planning, grounded in confidence in the achievability of human mastery over space and change; then through neo-liberalism, driven by an a-temporal faith in the collective benefits of maximizing individual choice. Both emphases have been equally hubristic, and devastating for the planet. This book inquires into the influencing factors as well as the practical realizations of this project at the level of national state organization and decision-making, with particular reference to Western liberal democracies, using New Zealand as a case study. In its latter stages, the book moves towards an exploration of the prospects and opportunities for a more balanced and realistic approach to managing the future – one that takes into account the demands of sustainable well-being for all. The experience of the last thirty years – characterized by a retreat from central planning followed by a partial return – and the fuller understanding of the limits of government action made possible by that experience make it an appropriate moment for a study of this kind.

Derek Wallace is a senior lecturer in the School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, where he teaches academic and professional writing, and interpersonal communication. His scholarly training was in the Department of English at the same university, where he did a doctorate entitled “Managing Power: The role of writing in the formation of public policy”, describing and analyzing the texts surrounding an instance of policy development. A comprehensive account of this work appears in  “Writing and the management of power: Producing public policy in New Zealand.” In Charles Bazerman and David R. Russell (eds.), Writing selves/writing societies: Research from activity perspectives. Perspectives on writing, 159–178. Fort Collins, Colorado: The WAC Clearinghouse and Mind, Culture, and Activity.

Humanistic Ecology: The Integration of Magic, Medicine, and Science by Paolo Palmieri is now available from The Humanities series.

This book is a work of cultural, pedagogical, and social advocacy. It sketches the project of humanistic ecology, the idea that cultural, social, and educational renewal can and should be pursued within a humanistic framework. Humanistic ecology builds on the interrelatedness of traditions such as
magic, medicine, and science, as exemplified in the history of Western civilization. Humanistic ecology aims at integrating forgotten or marginalized pathways to knowledge and wellbeing. It emphasizes their transformative power for the betterment of our lives.

The book looks at the future but is informed with the spirit the past. Knowledge, happiness, and health are not inscribed in our genes, or in the social institutions of industrialized societies. In a nutshell, humanistic ecology envisions holistic forms of inquiry, learning, and healing, beyond the sectarian divisions of contemporary social and intellectual life.

Paolo Palmieri is a historian and philosopher of science at the University of Pittsburgh.