It may be true, too, that some futurists have been advocates of one cause or
another. But isn’t that part of our job? As futurists, we are concerned about desirable
futures, especially as defined by the values of human freedom and well-being. For
example, Edward S. Cornish says that a ‘main point in thinking about the future is
to change it—to make it better than it would be without deliberate choices and
actions’ [9]. And as Jim Dator says, ‘It is now humanity’s challenge to invent, create,
and sustain life (if we wish life, especially humans, to evolve into the future), and
not merely and passively to “study” it’ [10].
Thus, some futurists, through their action-oriented work, show why it is important,
for example, to protect the environment and to create a sustainable world, while
other futurists work to promote social justice, to establish peace and harmony, to
prevent genocide, and to encourage members of the present generation to act responsibly
for the welfare of future generations. Distinctively, these and other issues, and
the values underlying them, are one source of cohesion and unity for the futurist community.