Future intelligence

As the pace of change has grown more rapid, an emphasis on survival and short-term thinking has increasingly pervaded the realm of leadership and political decision-making. In a bold response to this problem, the Israeli Knesset established the Commission for Future Generations and appointed the former judge, Shlomo Shoham, as head of the Commission in 2001. Shoham was tasked with the difficult work of representing the needs, interests and rights of those not yet born. Drawing upon his legal and political experience, Shoham today demonstrates how we can overcome the pitfalls of short-term thinking by developing our “future intelligence.” This kind of intelligence, he argues, is the key to infusing public administration with visionary thinking and creative foresight.