I am not a PEWS member but maybe some notes from outside can be
of interest.
1. I fully support the moral pathos of Al Bergesen concerning
intellectual responsibility for the the real today problems of
poverty, hunger, environment, agression, etc. At the same time I don't
think that general discussion of 21 century problems is always
utopian, irresponsible and useless activity.
I suggest to focus attention to the LINK (processes of
transformation, evolution, restructuring, etc.) between the modern
world full of problems and disaster (especially outside the "1st
world") and more human images of the future.
In fact a great amount of national and international
organizations try to deal with this problematique but PEWS (as I
suppose according to relative wsn-list) has or should have a
significant advantage: a serious knowledge and understanding of
systemic, geopolitical and geoeconomical reasons of the modern world
situation.
Is it not possible also to get understanding of economically,
politically, socialy and culturaly provided macrohistorical
transformations which should be the desirable LINK (see above)?
2.
Tom Hall writes:
>3. What does one do with specialty in PEWS or PEWS-like things? Consult
>for some left wing revolutions where if the CIA does get you the overly
>zealous revolutionary will? Compare with deviance with prison building as
>growth industry, race/ethnicity as a perennial problem, medical sociology
>as a growth industry.... This is not a critique of these things of
>themselves, but of the state of academe.
> I know of several people, who as MA students, and initially as
>graduate students were most interested in PEWS or pews-like stuff but
>for whom the possibility of a continuing paycheck has forced them to
>retool in these other areas.
It is a problem of lack of field of professional activity and
social need (order). At the same time we know that big companies,
national governments and inner administrative units (states, lands,
provinces) are interested now in elaborating prolonged prospects
(programs, projects) of development. The most intelligent managers and
officials now already realize that these prospects must take into
account the global word-systemic reality of the modern world. Is not
it a wide field of activity for PE and WS specialists?
The duty of intellectual communities (f.e. PEWS, WSN) might be in
this case in providing the general patterns, systemic, geopolitical
and geoeconomical (connected with environmental, social, cultural,
etc) constraints and ways of realization of basic human values for
different national, provincial, organizational programs of
development.
Surely these programmes of development must be connected with the
ideas of global transformation (see above) and play the role of its
realizing mechanisms.
The "arcane""esoteric" topics (of the 2nd stage of "PEWS decline"
according Al Bergesen) can help in this case for providing the
necessary specifics of needed programs of development which should
correspond with the great inevitable cultural, moral, religious,
traditional diversity of the whole world and almost each large country
and city.
3. Here we encounter with the problem of units of analisis and it
is a pleasure for me to tell about my complete agreement with Bill
Haller especially in his suggestion to enwiden the list levels and
units of analysis, necessary integration with other branch of
sociology.
My suggestion is to make an integrative conceptual system
(apparatus) which can serve as a general framework of different social
and historical sciences (also social ethics and practice: politics,
economics, education, etc) and allow us to move within this vast
space of topics and problems while preserving logical control and
integrity of thought.
Such integral conceptual framework should also help to connect
the general utopian ideas of the future with analisis of current
social, political, demographical, envir-nt, etc etc problems and with
theories of world-systems evolution and social, historical
transformations.
I confess that even for me this idea seems absolutely utopian but
who can forbid us to try the first steps? Later we can change the
direction of research and limit intellectual ambitions.
PS My own step now is constructing of the general typology combining
w-s, civilizations, oicumene, societies. I've got enough requests from
wsn-members and I hope to present some my ideas soon.
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Moderator of the list PHILOFHI (info file: PHILOF HISTORY PHILOSOP)
Nikolai S. Rozov,
Ph.D., Dr.Sc.(Social Philosophy)
Dept.Philosophy, Novosibirsk State University
ADDRESS: 630090, Novosibirsk, Pirogova 2, Russia
FAX: 7/3832/35 52 37
E-MAIL: rozov@adm.nsu.nsk.su
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