The future of the world
 

I like polls... I was wondering what people's opinions were on what the world will be like in 100 years. Also, what do you think would be the most beneficial political situation?

Personally, I have no idea what the world will be like. I can't even start to imagine what would happen. There are just too many variables right now to allow me to venture an educated guess.

I think the best political occurrence would be the establishment of a strong, unified world government. Mind you, this would not replace any current governements, it would merely tie all countries together under some common laws. In effect, the national governements would be similar to what states are in our current governement, only the world government would leave much, much more to the individual countries.

Feel free to refute my opinion or provide your own. Both opinions and debate are welcomed here.

The dictatorship to democracy cycle will continue for a very long time, imo. People are to complacent and apathetic now to stop it. I'm going to teach my kids what freedom means and hope that they get to see it it their lifetimes.

I think the corporations are going to take over... Eventually America's empire will fall... it is inevitable. The vacuum will be filled by powerful corporations that will step in buy up privatized nations... they will claim they can bring real efficiencies where democracy is just a laggard's system.

.....thereby recapitulating the center of the fascist critique of democracy--too slow, too much talking--what you need is a nice dictator who can Get Things Done, and who can declare a state of emergency in order to Do Them.

anyway, prophecy seems to me a fool's game.

Yes but it *is* fun... Where would science fiction be without it?

true enough.
most scifi seems to me like westerns in outer space however.
maybe the writers of such stuff are more prophets than i thought--seeing the universe as if it was a western seems very much the way of things out there in conservative-land: worked for reagan, works for bush jr....

Man... I KNEW I was forgetting a good poll option, and that was it. Wish I could edit the poll. Ah, well.


Note: PM a mod if you want to change something like a poll or thread title.

Option for corporations added.

-lebell

Looking back at the last hundred, it is clear that unforseen events, such as the rise of a Hitler or the discovery of atomic fission, can drastically alter world events.

But since we can only look at the obvious, I think world corporations will have a tremendous impact on the future, as will fundamentalist religions, especially Islam.

China will likely become the next superpower and possibly be the next America as it has a huge population, high work ethic and abundant natural resources.

I think that globalization will continue as contries continue to agregate to survive, probably along continental boundries.

I think a nuclear war of some type is inevitable (possibly between India and Pakistan), which means that some type of environmental backlash will occur.

Technologically, I think we will eventually solve the energy crisis which will allow several other advances (such as moon colonization), but that we may continue to lose our biological diversity (and may regain it through advances in genetic research).

So that is my fancy way of saying I don't know :D

Here on spaceship Earth all passengers will eventually realize that we are on this journey together and will be accorded respect and understanding. The seeds of good will and compassion will grow and flower until people everywhere live in harmony. Our only enemy will be the unknown and we will strive together as a species to uncover the mysteries of our existence. Or not.

Everyone unified under one government, heh, wouldn't that be nice? I voted nuclear holocaust. Eventually we will all be obliterated due to our mission of superiority. Our greed will be the end of us, and I wouldn't be surprised.