Macrohistory of Lawrence Taub

* Book: A Futurist for the 21st Century: The Macrohistory of Lawrence Taub (1936-2018). Ed. by Jan Krikke. DCO Books (Proglen Trading), 2024

URL = https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-futurist-for-the-21st-century-jan-krikke/1146339166?ean=9798224088362 [1]

See also: The Spiritual Imperative.

Description

1.

"This collection of essays is a tribute to Lawrence (Larry) Taub, the American macrohistorian and author of the book The Spiritual Imperative: Sex, Age, and the Last Caste.

Taub developed a distinctive macrohistorical model that transcends a purely Western perspective and takes Asian history into account, resulting in a more holistic, global view of humanity's evolution.

The book features contributions from six different authors. Jan Krikke, editor of the second edition of Taub's book, wrote a summary of Taub's macrohistory. Professor Sohail Inayatullah, Chair in Futures Studies at UNESCO, explains the distinctions between Taub's caste model and a similar model from Indian spiritual teacher R.P. Sarkar.

Bill Kelly, former lecturer in communications studies at UCLA, who wrote the foreword to Taub’s book, provides an intimate essay on Taub’s life and legacy. Also included is a review of Taub's macrohistory, written by futurist scholar Takuya Murata for the journal Futures of the Hawaii Research Center for Futures Studies at the University of Hawaii.

We hear Taub's own voice in an interview he gave to the P2P Foundation and in a summary of his macrohistory he presented at the 15th World Futures Study Federation (WFSF) Conference in Brisbane in 2001.

Lastly, we hear from Masanori Kanda, the Japanese business management expert who wrote the foreword to the Japanese edition of Taub's book. Mr. Kanda captures the unique personality and character of Lawrence Taub. The original 11 illustrations from The Spiritual Imperative are included in this volume."

2.

"This book is intended an introduction and a tribute to the visionary work of American futurist Lawrence Taub, author of The Spiritual Imperative: Sex, Age, and the Last Caste.

Whether you are a seeker of wisdom, a student of history, or simply curious about humanity's collective journey, Taub provides a new framework for looking at the past, the present, and the future through new eyes. At the heart of Taub's work is his concept of societal "castes"-interpreted not as rigid social hierarchies, but as evolving stages of human development. These stages progress from basic survival and the pursuit of power and wealth to the eventual realization of spiritual purpose.

Taub's thought-provoking macrohistory blends history, psychology, and spiritual philosophy to chart a path for individuals and societies grappling with the complexities of life in the 21st century. This book is intended an introduction and a tribute to the visionary work of American futurist Lawrence Taub, author of The Spiritual Imperative: Sex, Age, and the Last Caste."

(https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-futurist-for-the-21st-century-jan-krikke/1146339166?ean=9798224088362)

Contents

• Part 1: The Macrohistory of Lawrence Taub 7

• Part 2: P.R. Sarkar and Lawrence Taub 38
  • Sarkar’s Contribution to Macrohistory… 44

• Part 3L The P2P Foundation Interview 55

• Part 4: Lawrence Taub: Life and Work 68

• Part 5: The Spiritual Imperative Review 97

• Part 6: Foreword to the Japanese edition

Excerpt

From the introduction, Jan Krikke:

"Macrohistorian Lawrence (Larry) Taub wrote The Spiritual Imperative: Sex, Age, and the Last Caste while living in Tokyo. The book was translated into Japanese and quickly climbed to the top of Japan's bestseller list. It was later translated into Korean and Spanish. However, the English edition struggled to gain traction in the West, likely due to Taub's unique macrohistorical perspective, which blends the worldviews of India, Europe, and China. Most macrohistories focus on a particular domain—economics, technology, religion, or ideology. Taub’s work is distinctive in that it integrates three different “coordinates”—sex (gender), age, and caste—each representing a distinct dimension of human development.

At the heart of Taub's macrohistory is the Caste Model, which should not be confused with the Caste System. The word “caste” is a European distortion of the Sanskrit term varna, which means “color.” In ancient Vedic literature, varna was central to a prophecy about the cyclical nature of history.

The Vedic sages identified four key human traits or natural inclinations—aptitudes we might today describe as “a born salesman” or “a natural leader.” The four varnas are teacher, protector, trader, and worker. While every individual possesses elements of all four traits, one typically dominates in each person, regardless of gender. The sages predicted that humanity passes through cycles in which different varnas hold global prominence. Taub mapped this varna cycle onto the course of human history, using his Caste Model to explain shifts in regional preeminence, such as the current rise of the East.

Taub was not the first to explore the varna cycle. The modern Indian spiritual teacher P.R. Sarkar based his social development theories on this cycle, and Sohail Inayatullah, Chair in Futures Studies at UNESCO, incorporates it into his master classes. Inayatullah also collaborated with Australian scholars to develop the Sarkar Game, a tool used in corporate training to promote collaboration across different organizational ranks.

The second key element of Taub's macrohistory is the Sex Model, which addresses the role of women in major historical transitions. According to Taub, the female principle was dominant in prehistory, suppressed during the Patriarchal Age, and reemerged in the 20th century. He predicted that the 21st century would see the androgynous integration of the male and the female principles.

The third component of Taub's macrohistory, the Age Model, posits that history evolves in stages of spiritual development that mirror the life stages of an individual. Taub suggested that humanity progressed through phases such as the Age of Birth, the Age of Infancy, and the Age of Early Childhood. This idea echoes the evolutionary theory of “ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny” from Ernst Haeckel, as well as concepts discussed by Sigmund Freud in Totem and Taboo. Taub also argued that this model underpins much of the work of Integral theorist Ken Wilber.

Taub believed that the Age Model could be applied broadly to nations and regions, with Northern Europe representing the “oldest” or most mature region, given its advanced social development and gender equality.

While Taub's predictions were often off by decades, the strength of his work lies in the models themselves. They reveal what he called the “deeper currents” of history—sex, age, and caste—that shape humanity across cultures, religions, and ideologies. These currents help explain many of the seemingly contradictory developments in today’s world.