Where Have All the Futures Gone? Towards a Sociological Explanation for the Crisis of Promissory Legitimacy

It is widely acknowledged that perceptions of the future play an important role in shaping social outcomes. Imaginaries of how the future might unfold influence expectations, help coordinate social interactions and, consequently, impact the allocation of resources. While alternative and formative visions of society, creating collective expectations of the future, played an important role in social development over the past two centuries, many observers today note a widespread decline in future-oriented thinking, especially in countries of the global north—what some describe as a “loss of the future.” This article explores why inclusive social visions are so much less salient today compared to earlier times. In contrast to those who argue that stories of the future must simply be told more convincingly, this article highlights the fading of important social capacities for sustaining integrative collective visions.