Minimum group size for (future) imaginaries

This article is part of my Master’s Thesis - Future Imaginaries. Previous Chapter: 3.4.2 The distinction between imaginaries and future imaginaries

Imaginaries refer to a group’s collective ideas and expectations of how to get along with one another. But how large does the group that shares an imaginary have to be in order to speak of an imaginary? An answer to this question cannot be found among any of the authors considered in chapter 2.2.

This question did not arise in dealing with Imaginaries for a long time either. The idea of social imaginaries was based on the fact that they were shared by a large part of society, if not by society as a whole. It was not until Appadurai understood imaginaries as an “organized field of social practices” (see chapter 2.2.3) that it became clear how globalization and its various dimensions of cultural flux meant that imaginaries were becoming more small-scale and involved smaller group sizes.

Thus, the question of the minimum group size for (Future) Imaginaries becomes relevant. Appadurai breaks it down to neighborhoods and families (see quote in chapter 2.2.3) but does not give further details. Further research is not yet known.

Next Chapter: Effect of performativity on future imaginaries