MACROHISTORY AND FUTURES STUDIES

Through its delineation of the patterns of history, macrohistory gives a structure to the fanciful visions of futurists. Macrohistory gives us the weight of history, balancing the purl of the image of the futur e. Yet, like futures studies, it seeks to transform past, present and future, not merely reflect upon social space and time. Drawing from th e book Macrohistory and Macrohistorians [Galtung, J. and Inayatullah, S. (eds), Praeger, New York, 1997], this article links macrohistory wi th futures studies. It takes the views of over 20 macrohistorians and asks what they offer to the study of alternative futures. (C) 1998 Els evier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.