Seven Traits for the Future: Political Power and the Design of Future Generations
Overview
This essay analyzes Alasdair MacIntyre's argument about the seven traits necessary for a bright future and examines the paradox of political power in shaping societal values. The author explores MacIntyre's critique of how political and social elites control the design of future generations despite the inherent unpredictability of the future and the importance of historical roots and identity in cultural transmission.
What this essay covers
- Introduction discussing MacIntyre's thesis on political power and societal trait determination
- Analysis of the paradox between collective social responsibility and elite political control
- Discussion of uncertainty, unpredictability, and the role of natural science in shaping future generations
- Examination of historical roots, family lineage, and cultural identity as determinants of generational traits
- Critique of liberalism and urbanization's effect on erasing cultural roots and community stability
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Seven Traits for the Future
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Seven Traits for the Future
Every society dreams of the best for their generation. In his essay Seven Traits for the Future, Alasdair Chalmers MacIntyre explains traits necessary for a bright future. In the introduction to his essay, MacIntyre explains the class of people that decides the characteristics that a whole society gets.[1] According to him, the broader community has the obligation of shaping the future of the children who are our descendants. But everything in the world is politicized, and MacIntyre says that desirable traits to impart our descendants are political problems. He believes that those who hold political and social power determine what we do and give permission to impart society's desirable traits. Paradoxically, MacIntyre thinks it is suitable for the social and the political power to decide what we do.[2] This essay discusses this paradox and explains whether MacIntyre was correct about the effects that will emerge due to creating designer children.
There is a need to design the future generation, as MacIntyre states. But society rarely gets that chance. Instead, the political class takes all the responsibility. Their action is often geared towards benefiting them, but they have the power. Ironically, MacIntyre thinks that the political class can determine what society traits are suitable for the future. But the reality of the situation is that the political cartels run the world, and they decide how the world runs and how what traits are suitable for the generations.