What's in a name: Reflections on Ziauddin Sardar's 'the namesake'

This paper argues that the semantic difficulties surrounding the term 'futures' and its many variants have significantly impacted this field's legitimacy in public policy circles, as viewed from the experiences of this author. Lacking legitimacy, it has been difficult to build the number of academic programs in the United States needed to improve the field's legitimacy, branding, and quality. In addition to issue of semantics, the field needs to improve its central messages while maintaining its core strengths; diversity of thought and commitment to future generations.