Where Did The Future Go?

It seems like these days, we as a society are always anticipating the future rather than living in the moment. Preparation is always great in theory, but how often do our plans go exactly as we imagined them to go in our heads? Randy Martin's Where Did The Future Go? discusses the idea of risk management. Just by dissecting the title, we can see that Martin is trying to show us how we are all taking the idea of the future and bringing it to the present. One quote that stuck out to me is when Martin says "As a social force, capital not only dispossesses people of old habits of life but also attaches them otherwise." He is explaining how capitalism enables a change in lifestyle based on the certain demands that it is evoking. An example of risk management that I can relate to in particular is college itself. I am going to school to learn and to hopefully secure a job in the future. The irony is that I am taking out student loans while going through school in order to obtain a job that will hopefully pay well enough to help me pay off those student loans. Risk management is a controlling ideology of late capitalism.
In class, we also looked at scenes from the film Minority Report.  The characters in his movie see a crime before it happens and take preventative measures to stop it from occurring. This is another great example of risk management.
In relation to risk management is this idea of a "false reality." Mainstreet USA in Disneyland is the epitome of a wholesome and perfect way of living. This illustrates how easy it is for us to look back with such an idealized view of the past, when in fact, it is really just a false reality of the past that never was. It always easy to look back and think that things were better than they are now, which is why it is vital to consciously remember to take a breath and just be in the moment.