The fourth approach, which aims at inventing the future, assumes that it is the task of the futurists not to make predictions whilst systems are in soaring disequilibrium, but to help the members of any social, political, or business entity to mold for themselves future images or a shared vision of the future stemming from their collective wisdom.
This approach began to make headway in the mid-1980s and today is considered to be one of the approaches with the broadest acceptance.
It is important to note that these approaches and their derived methodologies and procedures are tiers standing on each other. Entities willing to better prepare themselves for the future use all these approaches in constructing their futures’ imagery. Others choose the most urgent for their needs and invest their resources accordingly.