Anticipatory democracy is a theory of

civics Civics is the study of the rights and obligations of citizens in society. The term derives from the Latin word ''civicus'', meaning "relating to a citizen". The term relates to behavior affecting other citizens, particularly in the context of ur ...

relying on democratic decision making that takes into account predictions of future events that have some credibility with the electorate. The phrase was coined by

Alvin Toffler Alvin Eugene Toffler (October 4, 1928 – June 27, 2016) was an American writer, futurist, and businessman known for his works discussing modern technologies, including the digital revolution and the communication revolution, with emphasis on t ...

in his book ''

Future Shock ''Future Shock'' is a 1970 book by American futurist Alvin Toffler, written together with his spouse Adelaide Farrell, in which the authors define the term "future shock" as a certain psychological state of individuals and entire societies. Th ...

'' and was expanded on in the 1978 book ''Anticipatory Democracy'', edited by

Clement Bezold Clement Bezold is a political scientist, author, futurist and a founder of the Institute for Alternative Futures (IAF) as well as its for-profit subsidiary Alternative Futures Associates. Bezold received a Ph.D. in political science from the Univ ...

. Other well-known advocates of the anticipatory approach include Newt Gingrich, Heidi Toffler,

K. Eric Drexler Kim Eric Drexler (born April 25, 1955) is an American engineer best known for studies of the potential of molecular nanotechnology (MNT), from the 1970s and 1980s. His 1991 doctoral thesis at Massachusetts Institute of Technology was revised and ...

, and

Robin Hanson Robin Dale Hanson (born August 28, 1959) is an associate professor of economics at George Mason University and a research associate at the Future of Humanity Institute of Oxford University. He is known for his work on idea futures and markets, a ...

. They all advocate approaches where the public, not just experts, participate in this "anticipation". The FutureMAP program of the

Information Awareness Office The Information Awareness Office (IAO) was established by the United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in January 2002 to bring together several DARPA projects focused on applying surveillance and information technology ...

program of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

government proposed a prediction market prior to its cancellation on July 29, 2003.

Variants

Bioregional democracy can appear as a variant of anticipatory democracy in that it anticipates (using a similar scientific process) the

ecological health Ecological health is a term that has been used in relation to both human health and the condition of the environment. *In medicine, ecological health has been used to refer to multiple chemical sensitivity, which results from exposure to synthet ...

outcomes of any given action. However it usually relies more on far less fragile means, and less on compared measures and quantities. An alternative, deliberative democracy, may combine with either the anticipatory or the bioregional model. It relies less on formal models and a

market system A market system (or market ecosystem) is any systematic process enabling many market players to offer and demand: helping buyers and sellers interact and make deals. It is not just the price mechanism but the entire system of regulation, qual ...

for betting on future events, and more on discussion. Deliberative, anticipatory and bioregional approaches can all be considered variants of

participatory democracy Participatory democracy, participant democracy or participative democracy is a form of government in which citizens participate individually and directly in political decisions and policies that affect their lives, rather than through elected repr ...

with different thresholds of ease of participation, burden of proof, concern for non-human life or future generations, and reflection of participants' tolerances versus preferences or ideals of

truth Truth is the property of being in accord with fact or reality.Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionarytruth 2005 In everyday language, truth is typically ascribed to things that aim to represent reality or otherwise correspond to it, such as belie ...

. Sometimes a deliberative model is described as more "left" and an anticipatory model as more "right". Those who wish to avoid this debate and see merits to both approaches, e.g. Greens, usually prefer the generic term "

". This term has become fundamental to

green politics Green politics, or ecopolitics, is a political ideology that aims to foster an ecologically sustainable society often, but not always, rooted in environmentalism, nonviolence, social justice and grassroots democracy. Wall 2010. p. 12-13. It b ...

itself. Other terms which likewise have more specific associations with advocates or methods include:

grassroots democracy Grassroots democracy is a tendency towards designing political processes that shift as much decision-making authority as practical to the organization's lowest geographic or social level of organization. Grassroots organizations can have a va ...

semi-direct democracy Direct democracy or pure democracy is a form of democracy in which the electorate decides on policy initiatives without elected representatives as proxies. This differs from the majority of currently established democracies, which are repres ...

consensus democracy Consensus democracy, consensus politics or consensualism is the application of consensus decision-making to the process of legislation in a democracy. It is characterized by a decision-making structure that involves and takes into account as bro ...

References

Bibliography

- Alvin Toffler *''Anticipatory Democracy: People in the Politics of the Future'', Clement Bezold, Random House, 1978. {{ISBN, 0-394-41236-2. Active citizenship Participatory democracy Types of democracy

Variants

See also

References

Bibliography