Cultivating Humanity? Education and Capabilities for a global ‘Great Transition’

Major changes are required in predominant human values during the next two generations to ensure politically and environmentally sustainable societies and a sustainable global order: away from consumerism to a focus on quality of life; away from possessive individualism towards more human solidarity; and away from an assumption of domination of nature, towards a greater ecological sensitivity. After reviewing evidence on these challenges, the chapter analyses their implications and the possibilities for change at personal, societal, and global levels, with special reference to education and its possible contributions and constraints. It discusses the roles of and lessons from internationally oriented postgraduate education in helping form future national leaders and global brokers, drawing examples especially from the past two generations of experience at the International Institute of Social Studies in The Hague.