The density of the water holds me afloat with no need to paddle. I stretch out and float on my back and the sounds around me become distorted by water. Staring at the sky, I take a few deep breaths and then close my eyes. I allow myself to float there for a moment, thankful for the chance to experience this place.

Design science is different from other problem-solving and planning methodologies in its comprehensive, anticipatory, inclusive, and transparent approaches to the development of solutions. It takes a ‘whole to particular’ approach that is both global in perspective and in its examination of options. It seeks to build capacity rather than merely solve problems and to develop solutions that are transformative rather than merely the reforming of already inadequate systems.

What are the fundamental questions that humans alive at this particular moment in time should ask of themselves? What conjectures should we spend time pondering in order to realize a framework by which we may live hopeful, meaningful lives in the Anthropocene? By finding the right questions, we can inoculate ourselves to despair and focus our energy on the more productive pastures of vision and method.

The number one problem facing humanity today is our sense that we are powerless to change any of it. The old ways of knowing and acting in our world are no longer sufficient. Our systems are collapsing. If we are going to serve societal transformation in the face of this collapse, as we believe is fully possible, we need to draw on a new form of knowing—knowing for transformative action.

In a world plagued by extreme wealth inequality, a surprising movement is stirring among the ultra-wealthy and their advisors. Chuck Collins explores the emergence of dissent within the ranks of the privileged, highlighting efforts to address the harms of concentrated wealth and racial capitalism.