The Four Phases of Society: Where Are We Going in the 21st Century? / Edition 1

by Peter Peeters

Overview

Today Capitalism is generally accepted as the only viable socioeconomic system in spite of the stress, moral decay, drug abuse, and crime it fosters. Peeters shows that, before entering the present Materialistic Phase, Western society went through two other phases, the Religious and the Militaristic-Nationalistic Phase. He argues that current social problems arose because the behavior of most people was no longer determined by the laws of Church and State, but instead by the need to be productive and the desire to acquire money and material goods. Peeters shows that Materialism is, however, not the ultimate stage of development of society. A comparison of the three phases and Communism—a rival form of materialistic Phase—shows that Western society is going to enter a Fourth Phase, which Peeters asserts will occur around 2050.

Peeters sets out to discover which prominent traits of today's ways of living and acting will be rejected during the transition toward the Fourth Phase and which new characteristics will emerge. The educational system, democracy, the goals of production and income inequality will all have to change when people adapt their aims to the requirements of the Post-Materialistic Phase. The challenge of the forces that now rule people's lives and the rejection of materialism will ultimately recreate a healthy, balanced society. Scholars and researchers in Future Studies as well as concerned citizens will find this a provacative analysis of today's problems and their possible resolution.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780275961435
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	03/19/1998
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	1330L (what's this?)

About the Author

PETER PEETERS is a physicist by training. Dr. Peeters taught at the Free University in Brussels from 1973 to 1989, and published numerous papers in the field. Among his earlier works in Future Studies is Can We Avoid A Third World War Around 2017? (1979).

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction
The Materialistic Phase
The Religious and Militaristic Phases
Communism as a Rival Third Phase
A Comparison of the Three Phases
Towards the Fourth Phase
The Dwarfing City
Leave it to the Market?
Inequality within Society
The Struggle for Equality
The Obsolescence of Parliamentary Democracy
The Transformation of Work and Education
The Fourth Phase
Appendix A: Inequality Dissected
Index

Editorial Reviews

Peeters, a physicist by training whose earlier works in future studies include (1979), takes a hard look at materialistic society, the forces that have shaped it, and the direction this society is heading. He sets the phase during which Capitalism has dominated society in its historical context and shows that society has gone through three main phases since the beginning of the Christian era: a religious phase dominated by the Church, a militaristic phase dominated by nationalism, and a materialistic phase dominated by Capitalism. He suggests the possibility of a fourth Post-Materialistic phase in which society will be able to solve problems such as crime, income inequality, and stress. This work is the first of four planned volumes on society, the economy, the politics of power, and the problem of overpopulation. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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