Great Transition

{{short description|Vision of a just and sustainable global future}}

{{Primary sources|date=April 2018}}

Great Transition is used by the Great Transition Initiative and its predecessor, the Global Scenario Group (GSG), to describe a vision of a just and sustainable global future. The term was originally coined by Kenneth E. Boulding in The Meaning of the 20th Century – The Great Transition (1964) and describes the shift from pre-modern to post-modern culture, and the four possible courses of action that these organizations believe will allow humanity to successfully manage the Great Transition.{{cite book|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=u8YSAAAACAAJ}}|title=The Meaning of the 20th Century: The Great Transition|last=Boulding|first=Kenneth Ewart|publisher=University Press of America|year=1988|isbn=978-0-8191-7102-3}}

Elements of the Great Transition vision include egalitarian social and ecological values, increased inter-human connectivity, improved quality of life, and a healthy planet, as well as the absence of poverty, war, and environmental destruction. The Great Transition concept was cited by Prime Minister of Bhutan Jigme Thinley,Jigme Thinly, [https://www.isecoeco.org/speech-to-isee-2012-by-prime-minister-of-bhutan/ "Address by the Prime Minister on Well-Being and Happiness,"] UN Headquarters, New York, April 2, 2012. Josh Ryan-Collins of the New Economics Foundation,Josh Ryan-Collins, [https://neweconomics.org/2009/10/the-great-transition Great Transition] (London: New Economics Foundation, 2009) and the Capital Institute.[https://capitalinstitute.org/blog/beyond-sustainability-road-regenerative-capitalism/ The Capital Institute Symposium: "Beyond Sustainability: The Road to Regenerative Capitalism] New York, June 20–21, 2013, It was used as a theme for the 2011 SmartCSOs conference on strategies for Civil Society Organisations in London.SmartCSOs, [https://www.socioeco.org/bdf_fiche-document-684_en.html Effective Change Strategies for the Great Transition: Five Leverage Points for Civil Society Organisations] Berlin: Smart CSOs, 2011).

History

The Great Transition was first introduced by the Global Scenario Group (GSG), an international body of scientists convened in 1995 by the Tellus Institute and Stockholm Environment Institute to examine the requirements for a transition to a sustainable global society. The GSG set out to describe and analyze scenarios for the future of the earth as it entered a planetary phase of civilization.See http://www.gsg.org/gsgpub.html and Paul Raskin, Tariq Banuri, Gilberto Gallopín, Pablo Gutman, Al Hammond, Robert Kates, and Rob Swart, [http://www.greattransition.org/gt-essay Great Transition: The Promise and Lure of the Times Ahead] (Boston: Stockholm Environment Institute, 2002)

See also

References

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Publications

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  • Parris, Thomas. "Bytes of Note: A Crystal Ball for Sustainability." Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development. 44, no. 7 (2002): 3-4. 10.1080/00139150209605799#.VZmxB0bLdyE http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00139150209605799#.VZmxB0bLdyE.
  • Rajan, Chella, [http://www.tellus.org/pub/Global%20Politics%20and%20Institutions.pdf Global Politics and Institutions]. Boston: Tellus Institute, 2006.
  • Raskin, Paul. [http://www.tellus.org/pub/Global%20Politics%20and%20Institutions.pdf GT Today: A Report from the Future]. Boston: Tellus Institute, 2006.
  • Raskin, Paul. [http://www.greattransition.org/publication/journey-to-earthland Journey to Earthland: A Great Transition to Planetary Civilization]. Boston: Tellus Institute, 2016.
  • Revkin, Andy. [https://web.archive.org/web/20020907133247/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/09/0904_020904_wirimpact.html Human Impact on the Earth - How Do We Soften It?] International Herald Tribune. September 4, 2002.
  • Stutz, John. [http://www.tellus.org/pub/The%20Role%20of%20Well-being%20in%20a%20Great%20Transition.pdf The Role of Well-Being in a Great Transition]. Boston: Tellus Institute, 2006.
  • White, Allen. [http://www.tellus.org/tellus/publication/transforming-the-corporation Transforming the Corporation]. Boston: Tellus Institute, 2006.

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