ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the role of metanarrative as it pertains to global governance, notably its importance as the source of the collective intentions and ethical propensities which inform the practical activities of government. Governance thus informed provides a steering function for human society towards a chosen destination. That ‘destination’ so far has been the Anthropocene epoch. The case is made that the incumbent metanarrative has failed to override – indeed, is complicit with – humanity’s aggressive tendency to expansionism, thus accentuating the relevance of and the need for a new story, and a new development trajectory. The chapter concludes with a discussion of narration in modern culture, identifying two key characteristic trends – postmodernism and positivist empiricism – that stand opposed to any overarching story; and the problem of agency is foreshadowed by acknowledging the important role of the individual in a postmodern world.
