From What Is to What If

What if imagination was the most powerful tool we had to change the world? In From What Is to What If, Rob Hopkins argues that our greatest crisis is not just climate change or inequality, but a failure of imagination. Without the ability to picture different futures, we remain stuck in systems that no longer serve us.

Hopkins, co-founder of the Transition Town movement, invites us to move beyond “what is” and dare to ask “what if?”: What if our towns were designed around connection rather than consumption? What if prosperity was measured by well-being and ecological health instead of GDP? What if schools encouraged curiosity instead of conformity?

The book is filled with inspiring examples of communities already living these questions. From urban farms to community-owned energy projects, Hopkins shows that imagination is not a dream but a practical force for cultural change. His stories remind us that creativity and play are not distractions – they are essential to survival and resilience.

What makes this book compelling is its balance of hope and urgency. Hopkins does not deny the gravity of the crises we face, but he insists that hope grows when people come together to dream and act.

For me, From What Is to What If resonates deeply with my Beyond the Dominant Paradigm series. It challenges the cultural assumptions that keep us trapped in “business as usual” and affirms that bold change begins with the courage to imagine otherwise.

👉 Read my full review here