Five Signs of the Coming Revolution •The Resurgence of Citizens' Movements -Paul Hawken •The Graying of America -Gay Gaer Luce •The Rising Challenge to Corporate Control of Our Lives -David Korten •Our Rediscovery of the World's Mysteries -James Redfield • A New Connected Generation -Margaret Wheatley Join the revolution! Café Utne is hosting discussions with several of the visionary authors who contributed essays to Imagine. For a full schedule, go to the Salon Related Articles The House that Lois Built A Cuppa Justice Students Say No to Classroom Commercials

Beyond the empty campaign rhetoric that passes for public debate today lie the seeds of a dramatic cultural and political transformation. In 50 years, America will be a very different place. And surprise! It might be better than you dare imagine. Here's why.

We are beginning a mythic period of existence, rather like the age portrayed in the Bhagavad Gita, in The Lord of the Rings, and in other tales of darkness and light. We live in a time in which every living system is in decline, and the rate of decline is accelerating as our economy grows. The commercial processes that bring us the kind of lives we supposedly desire are destroying the earth and the life we cherish. Given current corporate practices, not one wildlife reserve, wilderness, or indigenous culture will survive the global market economy. We are losing our forests, fisheries, coral reefs, topsoil, water, biodiversity, and climatic stability. The land, sea, and air have been functionally transformed from life-supporting systems into repositories for waste.