Dr. Andy Hines

Beware the Purity Test - Hinesight....for Foresight I’m writing this for primarily, but not exclusively for those leaning Left. [Keep in mind that there are “After Capitalism” folks that lean right]. Full disclosure: I am not a fan of “purity tests” in...

Beware purity test thinking! In After Capitalism I saw many proposals for small, decentralized and local futures. Great! At the same time, efforts to develop a vision or talk scale that involved compromise flunk the test. We're stuck. www.andyhinesight.com/beware-the-p...

Inside the Futurist’s Mind: How to Map Your Foresight Topic - Hinesight....for Foresight Every strong foresight project starts with clarity — and that begins with the domain map. In this video, I walk you through what a domain map is, why it matters, and how to create one that keeps your ...

Foresight is an exploration ... and explorations begin with a map. A domain map keeps your project focused and future-ready. Think of it as the blueprint for your foresight journey. www.andyhinesight.com/inside-the-f...

Rewilding: From Ridiculous to Useful - Hinesight....for Foresight Futurist Jim Dator is famous [in part] for quipping: “Any useful idea about the future at first seems ridiculous.” As we futurists seek out the fringes, we will often confront those useful seemingly r...

Futurist Jim Dator is famous [in part] for quipping: “Any useful idea about the future at first seems ridiculous.” Rewilding? We might be tempted to say ridiculous, but ... working with nature seems a whole lot more sensible than working against it. www.andyhinesight.com/rewilding-fr...

Involuntary Enoughness - Hinesight....for Foresight I wrote and talked a lot about Enoughness when I was in the midst of my Values work about a dozen years ago. I cited it Enoughness as one of the five key changes of the consumer landscape in my 2012 C...

INVOLUNTARY ENOUGHNESS: I talked about Enoughness in my Values work a dozen years ago. I came back to it in doing the After Capitalism research. Back then, it was part choice, part necessity. Are we getting to a future where it's not choice anymore?
www.andyhinesight.com/involuntary-...

Why Transformation? - Hinesight....for Foresight Image by Alexego01 Futurists love the idea of transformation. We get into the field because we are fascinated by change, and transformation is change is systems change on a large scale. Most people, h...

Why transformation? Transformation is needed when an old system has lost its fitness-to-purpose. Capitalism has lost its fitness-to-purpose.
www.andyhinesight.com/why-transfor...

Inside the Futurist’s Mind: Understanding STEEP - Hinesight....for Foresight Most of our project work as futurists is studying a particular domain for client: forestry, healthcare, , communities, or my favorite After Capitalism. But what about what’s happening around or outsid...

Project work typically focuses on a particular domain, say communities. But what about what’s happening around or outside of the domain? Futurists use the acronym STEEP to track changes or potential surprises from “outside.”
www.andyhinesight.com/inside-the-f...

Loopy Change and The Matrix - Hinesight....for Foresight The HAT technique at UH Foresight suggests that transformation emerges from one of two pathways: Collapse (more abrupt) or new equilibrium (more gradual). We’ve been talking about the collapse pathway...

Loopy Change and the Matrix. The process of Neo gradually coming to believe resembles the loopy approach to change that characterizes foresight work and our path to After Capitalism. Grab some popcorn and tune in as I analyze a key scene in the journey.
www.andyhinesight.com/loopy-change...

The value of a foresight education! My 12th year as leader of the UH Foresight Program; let's address "why." To kick off, we look at typical student backgrounds, characteristics, and what makes successful futurists who can design + lead foresight projects! www.andyhinesight.com/the-value-of...

The Dangerous Collapse Pathway to After Capitalism - Hinesight....for Foresight The initial step in Imagining After Capitalism is circulating the images and [hopefully] generating discussion and interest in moving towards them. The next step is addressing the inevitable “how do w...

Summing up thoughts on a Collapse pathway to After Capitalism. I'm sensing an almost cavalier attitude it emerging, like “we might as well just collapse and get on with it.” I fear it would be far longer, messier, and difficult than we think.
www.andyhinesight.com/the-dangerou...

Collapse: The “Comforting” and The Scary - Hinesight....for Foresight NOTE: this is the latest in a series of posts about Collapse: next time I’ll sum up some overall insights. Goliath's Curse: The History and Future of Societal Collapse by Luke Kemp provides an excelle...

Goliath's Curse: The History and Future of Societal Collapse by Luke Kemp provides an excellent context on Collapse as we explore potential pathways to After Capitalism, suggesting why we might be comforted … and why we might be scared. www.andyhinesight.com/collapse-the...

Inside the Futurist’s Mind: Selecting a Foresight Project Topic - Hinesight....for Foresight How do futurists decide what’s worth exploring? https://youtu.be/YkVVQF_GNe4?si=z26g8858PaknFrJZ Choosing the right foresight project takes more than curiosity — it requires focus, structure, and stra...

Inside the Futurist's Mind: Selecting a Foresight Project Topic. How do futurists decide what’s worth exploring? Video breaks down three essential questions every futurist should ask when selecting a project to ensure it creates real value for clients.
www.andyhinesight.com/inside-the-f...

Peak Population - Hinesight....for Foresight I was running down a rabbit hole about rewilding (more to come via future postings) as part of After Capitalism and came across Earth4all’s 2023 People and Planet report with two scenarios: In Too Lit...

Came across Earth4all’s 2023 population People scenarios w/ peaks below 9 billion. Wow. I've been thinking closer to 11 billion. Alas, a provocation, but useful?
www.andyhinesight.com/peak-populat...

After Capitalism Shift #10 From ACCUMULATION TO DISTRIBUTION - Hinesight....for Foresight I am leaving this for last, as I see distribution at the core of any solution. The problem of capitalism and the solutions of After Capitalism involve distribution … on a gigantic scale. As we see the...

After Capitalism Shift #10 From ACCUMULATION TO DISTRIBUTION. Capitalism follows its system logic: a few big winners, small % do okay, rest fight for scraps. All based on material goods accumulation, but what if collective well-being was the goal?
www.andyhinesight.com/after-capita...

After Capitalism: What the Signals Are Saying Q4 2025 - Hinesight....for Foresight Here is the fourth of the quarterly check-ins for 2025 on what the signals are saying regarding After Capitalism. (See Q3 2025 here.) Lots of good ones this quarter … it was hard to choose! Drum roll ...

Q4 '25 check-in on what the signals are saying regarding After Capitalism. Where Have All the Young Men Gone … toward a tub of goo? Building an ownership economy …. Nice! A trillion dollar pay package accelerates the race to the bottom ...yikes.
www.andyhinesight.com/after-capita...

Review: The End of Capitalism - Hinesight....for Foresight I found out about The End Of Capitalism from an interview by C. J. Polychroniou, Beyond Capitalism: The Diverse Economies, in which George DeMartino and Ilene Grabel talked about how the path-breaking...

Review: The End of Capitalism (1996). A central principle was that economies, such as the US, that we identify as “capitalist” are actually comprised of many different and non-capitalist arrangements. Interesting!
www.andyhinesight.com/review-the-e...

PODCAST: Imagining After Capitalism for Internet of Senses - Hinesight....for Foresight Had a nice podcast chat about my evolution as a futurist leading me to Imagining After Capitalism with a show/organization called the Internet of Senses Institute. It's an interesting concept ... "a c...

Had a nice chat about my evolution as a futurist leading me to Imagining After Capitalism with the Internet of Senses Institute. We positioned our conversation as "sight," as we were seeing into the future.
www.andyhinesight.com/podcast-imag...

How Change Happens - Hinesight....for Foresight Ever wonder if there is a rhyme or reason to how things happen? I recently posted the short video, How Change Happens, to help those new to foresight or clients at corporations, non-profits, or commun...

How do futurists think about how change happens? In this short video, we explore how foresight professionals, strategists, and visionaries think about time and the process of systemic change.

www.andyhinesight.com/how-change-h...

Prototyping Tomorrows: An Immersion Weekend - Hinesight....for Foresight The University of Houston is offering a brand spanking new IMMERSION WEEKEND! It takes us beyond discussion and transports us into the future. This weekend workshop, Bringing Futures to Life through D...

UH Foresight is hosting a new IMMERSION weekend workshop: Bringing Futures to Life through Design: Prototyping Possible Tomorrows. Design and experience futures that you and your clients will want over 3 creative, high-energy days from Jan 16-18, 2026.
www.andyhinesight.com/prototyping-...

After Capitalism Shift #9 The Future Is Local - Hinesight....for Foresight During the initial research for After Capitalism, it was striking how many of the concepts had a local approach and scale as part of their recommendations. More than a dozen years later, it’s no longe...

After Capitalism Shift #9: The Future Is Local. It is striking how many of the After Capitalism concepts have a local approach. The shift to local, distributed, and decentralized, is a top ten global trend that comes up in almost every project we work on. www.andyhinesight.com/after-capita...

Podcast: Everyone’s a Futurist - Hinesight....for Foresight We all think about the future. But futurists do it in a more structured way. In this conversation with Dr. Wendy Slusser of UCLA's Livewell podcast, we explored questions of what it's like to be a fut...

We all think about the future. But futurists do it in a more structured way. This Livewell podcast w/ Wendy Slusser of UCLA explores questions of what it's like to be a futurist -- very timely given the growing interest in the future and futurists. www.andyhinesight.com/podcast-ever...

Abundance Doesn’t Mean More Stuff - Hinesight....for Foresight Review: Abundance, Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson This new entry into the Abundance territory is a wildly successful bestseller, written in the classic biz book bestseller style of charming or heart-wr...

Abundance doesn't mean more stuff. Nonetheless the best-selling argument of Klein and Thompson's Abundance is that we need grow and build our way out of the problems created by ... growing and building.
www.andyhinesight.com/abundance-do...

How Guiding Images Work - Hinesight....for Foresight How do futurists use guiding images to imagine the future? In this short video, we explore how foresight professionals, strategists, and visionaries use guiding images to shape long-term thinking and ...

How do futurists use guiding images to imagine the future? In this short video, we explore what guiding images are and why they matter -- with examples of how change-makers use them.
www.andyhinesight.com/how-guiding-...

Making the future less scary - Hinesight....for Foresight While most of my time is spent looking for positive guiding images of the future, I think it’s important to look at a wide range.  In particular I’m trying to gain some insight into groups who want to...

In times of difficulty or crisis, people tend to look backward to the known for comfort, rather than forward for change. How can we as futurists create ideas about where we we might be going ... that look more compelling than the ideas of where we have been?
www.andyhinesight.com/making-the-f...

After Capitalism Shift #8: From PRIVATE to COMMONS - Hinesight....for Foresight There are aspects of everyday life that we consider so normal that we don’t even question them anymore. We recently discussed how everyone should have a job and go to work, but if we take a historical...

In After Capitalism, The Circular Commons image describes a move away from private approaches to social, political, and economic commons, as part of re-balancing our priorities from personal accumulation to collective well-being.
www.andyhinesight.com/after-capita...

7 Steps for Better Scanning - Hinesight....for Foresight Curious about how professionals really “see” what’s coming next? At the UH Foresight Program, we’ve had the privilege of collaborating with more than 100 organizations—governments, corporations, non-p...

Unlock better foresight skills in just 5 minutes! After decades of working with orgs, I see the same scanning mistakes -- even among pros. Check out my new video: “7 Tips for Better Scanning.” Are you guilty of any? Watch & test your future-thinking game!
www.andyhinesight.com/7-steps-for-...

A post-work future is coming! It is looked at w/ fear and trepidation. Full employment is an unquestioned goal. Wrong goal! Within the context of capitalism, this backwards thinking makes sense, since jobs = survival. But it's changing!
www.andyhinesight.com/after-capita...

There are Alternatives to Capitalism - Hinesight....for Foresight While doing some After Capitalism scanning over the weekend, I was surprised – or is it dismayed – by how many references there still are to “there are no alternatives to capitalism.” That was certain...

I'm surprised by how many references there still are to “there are no alternatives to capitalism.” More and more ideas are emerging about alternatives to capitalism, e.g., Circular Commons, Non-Workers Paradise, and Tech-Led Abundance.
www.andyhinesight.com/there-are-al...

After Capitalism Shift #6: From PAST to FUTURE - Hinesight....for Foresight Much, if not most, of the work looking at alternatives to capitalism spends a great deal of time focused on the past. This is important to do. I have an undergrad degree in history and I love and appr...

Much of the work looking at alternatives to capitalism focuses on fixing past wrongs. Understandable, but a danger is we end up recycling used futures. After Capitalism advocates shifting our focus to creating and building new futures (with the past in mind).
www.andyhinesight.com/after-capita...

After Capitalism: What the Signals Are Saying Q3 2025 - Hinesight....for Foresight Here is the third of the quarterly check-ins for 2025 on what the signals are saying regarding After Capitalism. (See Q2 2025 here.) Drum roll please! The Right’s War on Capitalism Some on the right a...

Q3 '25 check-in on what the signals are saying regarding After Capitalism. Might the Left find common ground with the Right? More degrowth signals with limitarianism, the academic version of Enoughness. And of course, more escapism, this time seasteading.
www.andyhinesight.com/after-capita...

After Capitalism Revisted on FuturePod - Hinesight....for Foresight Peter Hayward, former leader of the great Foresight program at Swinburne that was shut down, has been doing the amazing Futurepod podcast for the last several years. My recent visit was episode 228 ,,...

Peter Hayward has been doing the amazing Futurepod podcast for the last several years. He had me back on Episode 228 to talk about what's happened with After Capitalism since it came out this year (updating our initial chat 3 years ago on Episode 149).
www.andyhinesight.com/after-capita...