The Sociology of Futurelessness

Richard Jc Tutton

doi:10.1177/00380385221122420

The Sociology of Futurelessness

Richard Jc Tutton

Sociology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

This paper contributes to ‘sociologies of the future’ by discussing the concept of ‘futurelessness’. I provide a conceptual elaboration of what is meant by ‘futurelessness’, beginning with its use in the psychological literature of the 1980s concerned with the effect of a constant threat of nuclear war. I argue that this concept is of value to ongoing sociological debates about the relationship between how the future is imagined, power, and social change. I further discuss the extent to which ‘futurelessness’ is a particular mode of relating to and feeling about the future that is characteristic of contemporary European societies. I discuss how this ‘futurelessness’ must be understood in relation to political and cultural developments of the past fifty years and consider its significance for sociological debates about contemporary futurity.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	438-453
Number of pages	16
Journal	Sociology
Volume	57
Issue number	2
Early online date	15 Dec 2022
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/00380385221122420
Publication status	Published - 1 Apr 2023

Bibliographical note

Keywords

Affect
futures
Neoliberalism
power
Sociology

Access to Document

10.1177/00380385221122420Licence: CC BY-NC

The Sociology of Futurelessness
© The Author(s) 2022
Final published version, 126 KBLicence: CC BY-NC

Cite this

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title = "The Sociology of Futurelessness",

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