The Future of the World

[foundationist]

A simple question - how do people see the future of the world developing?

Perhaps consider this in terms of our environmental future, global politics, and poluation change needs.

Let's discuss what we face in our future.

[exastra]

???are you asking how site visitors see the world, or how we think the world in general see it? the question is not so simple to answer, because it depends on perspective.
if we choose to continue on the same corrupt path as we have been, distopia is inevitable. if we choose to follow a better path before it is too late, utopia is possible.
we need to abandon our authoritarian, competitive, consumerist culture and replace it with its opposite model.
Daniel Quinn predicts that we have approximately 200 years to reach critical mass for revolution... or we shall either perish or enter a new darkage... because we cannot sustain ourselves living by our existing dominant attitudes. i tend to agree.
"Why can't we learn from all we've been through after 200 years?"- Billy Joel :-X :'( :-

[maya]

Were now worse off that at the dawn of the millenium. Things are much worse.Their going to get worse as well.everything. > :'(

[Dave the Web]

The futures so bright I gotta wear shades! 8)

I am now tired from thinking too much on what Victor has stated in another thread, so I think I will pop down to SD for some respite.

[Omar]

The future of the world will be Islamic.

Europe is shrinking, as your correspondent noted in the other article. As the European population shrinks it will require greater immigration. While Christianity is struggling in the West, Islam is gaining great ground.

This is not to say that the future is one to be terrified of. Since September the 11th, the worlds "Islam" and "Muslim" have begun synonymous with "terror", "terrorism" and "fear". This will not be so. At the moment the war in Iraq is stoking up hot passions; Osama bin Laden has broken open the seal of extremism; yet these are all part of a transistional movement as Islam tries to align itself both within and without world politics.

That is to say that the Islam of the future, that will eventually dominate Europe, is one that is far more peaceful and liberal, far removed from the clutch of radical Mullahs. Indeed, I expect there to be much more inter-faith dialogue, with Islam and Christianity sharing a close bridge on our shared subject matter.

[open]

the future of the world is america

[brian]

I actually meant how do people here see the future of the world.

I'll kick out a few ideas:

1/ Africa as the key to the 21st Century.

I don't know why, but my intuition told me this. Perhaps it's simply symbolic - Africa is very much the symbol of world poverty of suffering. I guess if there's a general trend through this new century of Africa building itself away from this, then in a sense it would provide a new light for the following century.

In the post-cold War political stage, Africa is pretty insignificant. However, watch out for Africa becoming the granary of the world.

2/ Nuclear strikes.

Expect three this century. At least one small-scale conflict (quite possibly India vs Pakistan), or else a "rogue" state firing a handful of nuclear warheads.

The other two incidents I would place as terrorist attacks on major cities. I give London, New York, Washington, and Tel Aviv each a 50% chance of being hit.

I don't say so with any sense of relish whatsoever. I'm saying prepare for the worst. September 11th will be nothing to the worst of what is to come.

3/ Collapse of the US economy?

Tentative and always threatening. But no superpower exists so for ever. Likely there'll be a decline first, ironically because of global enviromental changes, which will hit hardest (and over time) on the heavily subsidised US agricultural sector (mayb that's why Africa's role as a granary would be all important?).

4/ The Sahara will green

No idea why. Common sense says no, but intuition says there will be at least some limitated and very pro-longed re-invigoration of the Saharan flora. I see rainfall pattern changes through global warming as the engine for this.

5/ The liberalising of Islam

Islam will become even more of an important political factor. But likely regimes will slowly liberalise, giving rise to a form of "Liberal Islam" equivalent to the "Liberal Christianity" that rose out of the 19th century.

6/ The rise of the next superpower

China is already aspiring and will likely get there. How about the scenario, though, that just as tensions come most to a head, the US missile defence shield (or whatever form it has reached by then) becomes the Global Defence Shield. Nuclear launches face destruction before hitting targets. GDS handed over to UN control.



Hm...see if there are any conversation starters in there. I'll try and think of more...

[Elizabeth May]

You really think there'll be 3 nuclear strikes this century? Hardly optimistic.

[brian]

Perhaps I should have said "radiological" strikes. Perhaps nuclear material in a dirty bomb, instead. But even still...

Humanity is still an aggressive ape. Our weapons have become not simply more powerful, but also more available. And there is plenty enough anger in the world seeking vicious expression.

I sincerely hope I'm proved wrong on the issue.

[Ali]

The future is the garden of the Almighty, and none mortal may walk there. We are in the present, my friend, and our fears and expectations may lead us to believe we see future when in fact we merely see our fears and expectations expressed.

[brian]

Certainly we have our fears. Just saw this in the enws today, which reinforces the possibility of a radiological or nuclear strike against a city:

MI5 warns of 'long' war on terror