Promise Ahead

Here is a breathtaking view of the future that is relevant for anyone seeking to navigate through our profoundly changing world. Based on thirty years of research by one of the foremost thinkers about the future, Promise Ahead is the sequel to Duane Elgin's bestselling 1981 classic Voluntary Simplicity, which changed the lives of thousands and was called the "bible" of the simplicity movement by the Wall Street Journal. In Promise Ahead, Elgin looks beneath the headlines to reveal the deeper currents that are now changing our lives.

Elgin sees two powerful sets of trends converging in the coming decades. The first set he calls "adversity trends." These include a massive human population, global climate change that threatens our food supply, the mass extinction of species, the rapid depletion of crucial natural resources, and civil unrest caused by global poverty. The second set he calls "opportunity trends," which include the quiet revolution toward simpler and more soulful ways of living, the use of the internet as a tool for social awakening and change, the growing efforts toward reconciliation of racial, gender, religious, and other differences, and the emergence of a new paradigm of perception that views the universe as a living system of which we are an integral part.

The outcome of the intersection of adversity and opportunity trends is uncertain. However, if the human family mobilizes itself to meet this time of unprecedented challenge, we have the prospect of making a dramatic leap forward in our evolutionary journey and will have a very promising future.

Promise Ahead calls to each of us to do our part in transforming the world by becoming practical activists in our own lives and taking control of how we consume, communicate, relate to others, and see our role in the larger universe. It is a call to action for each individual and a beacon of hope to all.