Many of us fear the future. However we are on the brink of an inspiring new age. It is true that we will not all benefit equally in the coming years – but we didn’t in the past either. What this book does is to put that stark sounding message into perspective. Twelve megatrends from different realms are explored, allowing the whole picture of the future to be revealed. Illustrated with inspiring examples from all over the world the book reaches beyond today’s problems; it is highly accessible and transcends hype. It is provocative and ambitious in its scope. Over-arching and intersecting trends are described in the framework of global realities. Peak-oil will come sooner than many stakeholders currently expect and the age of oil will come to an end. The flip-side is that a new energy economy will emerge. In this post-oil world we will learn to treat nature with more respect. Gaia, the system which James Lovelock has described as managing the Earth, will become of utmost importance as nature becomes increasingly disrupted. We can expect that countries, in this post-oil world of rising natural disasters, will develop along several different trajectories. In the First World of the current rich countries, including the UK and the US, people will speed forward. In the Second World of emerging markets such as China and India the goal will be to accelerate towards the lifestyles currently enjoyed in the First World. In the Third World, including countries such as Oman and Costa Rica, progress will be slow. In the Fourth World of states such as Pakistan and Gaza, nations will implode with rising populations and violence. The global losers of the Fourth World will begin an exodus to countries in the First World causing disruption and unrest. This will lead to the role of government being questioned and the concept of ‘security’ changing. Trends explored within this broader picture include:
• The impact of improved healthcare and medical advances extending life-expectancy. We may look forward to living until we are 120 years old, but only if we have addressed our own happiness.
• Robots becoming part of our lives. Computer aided intelligence and mass intelligence systems will rise in importance, opening up huge potential for the way we use knowledge and for the question of work.
• The physical and virtual worlds blending as social networks expand, enabling us to create web-based allegiances.
• The concept of religion expanding to embrace non-denominational spirituality. We will see the rise of the ‘personal God’.
• World population growth slowing and ultimately beginning to shrink from the current 6 billion to a more sustainable figure. But not before we have had to address the issue of population control.
• Nanotechnology, genetics and biotechnology rising in importance.
• Agriculture being re-assessed and water shortages inspiring new farming methods.
Technology, the end of privacy, the future of nature, living without hydrogen, attempting to colonize space, new media and new heroism: it’s all part of the cocktail of an exciting future.
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