10 Most Hopeful Trends

Why the Next 10 Years Will be Nothing Like the Last 10 Years
On YES! magazine’s 10th anniversary, we look at trends that are changing
our culture, our relationship to the Earth, and our sense of self.

1 ACTIVE NONVIOLENCE:
Heroes for an Unheroic Time
by Carol Estes
As violence and war grow more costly, people worldwide are developing a courageous practice of peacemaking.

2 FOOD REVOLUTION:
Americans Lose their Appetite for Anonymous Food
by Brian Halweil
Freshness. Beautiful landscapes. Food safety. There are lots of reasons we are turning to local farms for our daily bread.

3 SUSTAINABILITY:
A Planet at the Crossroads
by Bill McKibben
As assaults on Earth’s living systems grow, so do efforts to protect the environment — or failing that, to lay the groundwork for humanity’s recovery.

4 ART:
For the Common Delight
by Dee Axelrod
Art today gives voice to the silenced, illuminates complex political issues, and brings joy to the public square.

5 NEW COSMOLOGY:
A Great Story–Our Common Story
by K. Lauren de Boer
Could a story of awe at the unfolding of the universe be a story in which we can all find a home?

6 THE GOOD LIFE:
Consumerism is so-o-o ‘90s
by Holly Dressel
Advertisers spend billions to convince us that buying more stuff leads to the good life. But millions of us have quit buying it.

7 INDIGENOUS POWER:
Indigenous Rights Go Global
by John Mohawk
The days when indigenous peoples could be ignored, pushed off their land, and massacred are coming to an end.

8 DEMOCRACY:
The (Re)Claiming of Democracy
by Doug Pibel
The democratic system in the U.S. is beaten and bloodied, but pro-democracy activism is starting to pay off.

9 GLOBAL JUSTICE:
Another U.S. is Possible
by Tanya Dawkins
U.S. grassroots activists are organizing a U.S. Social Forum, which could be the largest and most significant gathering of progressives in decades. And you’re invited.

10 NEW AWARENESS:
A New (and Ancient) Understanding of Who We Are
by Frances Korten
What underlies the trends? A shift as big as the
Copernican Revolution.

50 Ways to Survive (and Thrive) in the Next 10 Years
by the YES! Editors