by Robert Burke
ABSTRACT
This paper explores education and advertising and its effect on how our worldview has been formed about the importance of growth regardless if the growth is appropriate or inappropriate. The paper suggests that unchecked inappropriate growth is a result of a ‘global anxiety disorder’ that sees growth as the measurement of human success. The paper further suggests that futures theory and methodology may be able to ‘treat’ inappropriate growth, as a worldview anxiety disorder, in much the same way that psychotherapy treats anxiety disorders. If economic fundamentalism and its impact, inappropriate growth, is seen as a global anxiety disorder how could we go about treating it? The paper argues that through changes in education and advertising this would lead to a more appropriate worldview creating an optimistic hypothesis for the future.(continue…)