Global Futurity

Abstract

Chapter 5 takes on the trend industry’s global dimensions. In considering how trends travel around the world, the chapter argues that the trend business reflects a neoliberal agenda. It explores how globalization, protech optimism, and inequality are embedded into how the trend businesses both imagines and tracks the future. The chapter focuses primarily on Dubai and the Netherlands but includes insights from forecasters based in a number of additional countries. Keywords: Dubai, the Netherlands, futurism, future, trends, innovation