The Fourth Wave

Preface

TIMES ARE HARD and people are consumed by crises. The challenges posed by political, economic, and environmental problems persist and intensify; there is a decline of genuine leadership in social, political, educational, and religious spheres; unhealthy practices and censorship in business and other institutions continue unabated; and change, a major disruptive force, is omnipresent and accelerating.

Our society, facing momentous challenges in the closing years of the twentieth century, needs visions of the future so attractive, inspiring, and compelling that people will shift from their current mind-set of focusing on immediate crises to one of eagerly anticipating the future—a future where the health and well-being of the earth and ...