21st century changes

[PristineSkies]

Hello, I need some ideas for this question :

The 21st century is believed to herald drastic changes. Which areas do you think will be influenced most by this wave of changes?

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I hope this is the right section for this kind of question. If not, please suggest me some other section.
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[jayem]

Sound like a term paper assignment. Well, here's an obvious one. The prevailing change of the 21st century will be progressively diminished nationalism, at least in the economic realm. Country won't compete against country. Rather, there will be a North American economic entity, competing against a European entity, competing against an Asian entity, and so on. A global economy means that regions will become the players, not individual countries.

 

[JustOneWay]

MOD HAT ON

Thread reopened. Considering News & Current Events forum no longer requires a link, staff has decided to leave this here and people can post current events and news which they believe may help shape the 21st century. Have fun!

MOD HAT OFF​

 

[Hypothetical]

Environmentalism. Low resources. Alternate energy.

 

[wiggsfly]

Major advances in energy, farming, and industry will help sustain a larger population without taking as much of an environmental toll on the planet. The US, saddled by enormous debt and the wait of a population that has been dumbing down for decades will become a 3rd world country while the first world will be reduced to cities and regions within various countries rather than the countries themselves.

 

[Kharak]

Sound like a term paper assignment. Well, here's an obvious one. The prevailing change of the 21st century will be progressively diminished nationalism, at least in the economic realm. Country won't compete against country. Rather, there will be a North American economic entity, competing against a European entity, competing against an Asian entity, and so on. A global economy means that regions will become the players, not individual countries.

"A new power is rising. Its victory is at hand!"

I will argue against this, purely for the very growing nationalist sentiment within Britain and the United States (among other places). There is still a very strong (if disturbing) BNP mindset taking root in the heads of people that disguises itself as libertarianism. Not that I fail to see the utter disadvantages of the huge unions of power. The EU is not particular democratic, and there is always a place for cartels that is better left occupied by something else.

 

[Nooj]

I think an overpopulation and food crisis will come back to bite us. We're not growing enough food to feed everyone and our birth rates aren't slowing down fast enough. Global warming will hit the poorest regions the hardest, reducing their ability to feed themselves.

 

[ARCatholic]

Improved communications, increased governmental surveillance, larger gap between the poor / rich and a shrinking middle class.

 

[Billnew]

I do believe we will continue to expand new energy sources, not because of MMGW,
but because of a desire to become more energy independant.
I think space is still full of mysteries that will suprise us in where it will take us.(even finding a better way to send a multiple trip vessel into space without those fragile heat tiles.)
I think the planet will have to face population control. The people that can least support massive families are the ones that have massive families, the modern countries tend to have 0-3 children.
Govermentally, I don't see much changing, EU will continue on its path of being Democratic socialism, The US will zig-zag between capitalism and socialism, depending on the swing of the party in control. Hopefully, we won't capsize by the sharp left turn we are taking, and the right(opposite of left)side gets organized and is able to get a foot hold back in politics.

Hopes for the future:
1.US(UK) goverments figures out unending borrowing is not good.
2.unending foriegn aid to everyone and anyone is not good. Some is good, uncontrolled is bad.
3.World police and undermining goverments against the will of the people is wrong.
4.Violence against innocent people is not the way to gain power, and it should only gain the worlds condemnation.
5.Nuclear weapons are not a right of all countries. The power in these devices makes the unstable goverment severely dangerous to the world. Be it unstable leadership, or unstable power struggle leaving the nukes poorly guarded.
One nuclear weapon could kill multiple thousands, leave ecological disasters, and do more for MMGW then all poluters in the world.
sub-hope: Nuclear weapons will never go away, and the big stable goverments will alwaays have to have them. Mutual assured distruction is still the biggest deterent to thier use. (That is why terrorist can never be a llowed to get them, they don't care about who or how many die as long as some of them are their targets.)

Those that say the best days of the USA are behind them, don't really know American history. Russia had some bad years and recovered. USA will suffer, but it will return to its leadership position. But I don't know if our leaders will figure out that good investments, and saving for a rainy day is good politics. Why save for a rainy day, when you can give the money away in special interests or to buy votes.
(yes, I am talking both sides.)

 

[Fantine]

I think it will be marked by the emergence of a new superpower (China) and a reduction in the influence of the U.S.

Only one thing can change that--an emergence of American innovation. That will require more focus and funding for education, and a massive investment by the US in new technologies--particularly alternative energy.

We need to stop relying on oil, because we need to stop pouring vast sums of money into an area of the globe that is he11bent on destroying us (and the world...)