There are many ways of looking at the future. I like to compare them to the Hogwarts houses.
When I first started studying the future and all of its possibilities, it felt like a space only for Ravenclaws. Intelligence, creativity, learning, and wit. All of the desalination plants and robotic technology that is being developed to make the future better leave me feeling left out. If I can’t invent the future, will I be stuck in the past? Continuing with this thinking, it is easy to become cynical about the future. Looking at all the work there is left to do is daunting. This, for me, is the stage of contemplating the future when people adopt notions like giving up on Earth in response to climate change. There is no Planet B, but many people are pooling their resources to get us into space as a backup plan when we really need to be focusing on the planet we have. It’s the ambitious, shrewd, and cunning Slytherin mindset taking over.
The Gryffindor model for the future is a valiant effort. But courage, bravery, and nerve will only get us so far. We need the Gryffindor mindset as we have to retain courage in the face of scarcity and problems that humanity has never faced before. But I think that the most crucial component of imagining the future is the Hufflepuff view. Hufflepuffs value hard work, patience, justice, and loyalty. Hufflepuffs care. We are never going to be able to implement the creative Ravenclaw inventions, the ambitious Slytherin plans, or the Gryffindor courage unless we can channel the Hufflepuff capacity for care. It is a labor of love to plan for a future that will affect our children more than us. We can’t forget that unless people care about each other, they won’t put in the effort needed to improve the future.
