ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that the future is an episteme – it is an integrated set of ideas or metaphors, a Weltanschauung that is historically circumscribed and contingent. As such, the future has an origin, a beginning in terms of historic and cultural contexts – specifically, the future was invented or “discovered” in the late 19th century. The future is framed by three key concepts, affluence, planning and novelty, arising from the rapid developments in agriculture, industry, technology, science and transportation since the late 18th century. These elements of the future episteme were embraced by political regimes of both left and right in the first half of the 20th century, but with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Ironically, the preservationist heritage ethos is confronted by the same forces that undermined the future. The era of atemporality suits both traditional and neo-conservatives because “if anything goes, everything stays” and heritage becomes a static utopian past.
