Causal Layered Analysis (abbreviated as CLA) is an approach and a technique used in foresight to shape the future more effectively. CLA may be used when debating all types of issues, collectively or individually. It works by identifying different levels of analysis to create coherent new futures. The four levels are core to CLA: the litany, the social/systemic causes, the discourse analysis that legitimizes and supports the worldview, and underpinning that worldview, the myth/metaphor deeply linked to culture and long-term history.