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3.7 Future TrendsVersion 1.4 November 2020                                       (Previous Version) These are the questions we ask in the introduction (Section 0.1.6 – paragraph 20): Where is the world heading? Has capitalism triumphed? Is materialism the best we can hope for? Is the world doomed? Will the global financial system totally collapse? Will we have World War III? Will there be a nuclear Armageddon? Will we be wiped out by a global pandemic? Will population and consumption growth destroy the environment? Will climate change destroy modern civilisation? Predicting the future is notoriously risky but we must do so to avoid terrible mistakes caused by inaction. The trends discussed and concerns raised in this chapter will change over time, as some issues are resolved and new issues arise. Nevertheless, the issues discussed here will still be of concern for many decades. How we react to these depends on the choices we make as individuals, as societies and as a species, in the personal and political spheres, as discussed in Parts 6 and 7. We may point out that pursuing some outcomes would be contrary to the core values of a Reasonable Global Way but our aim here is to present objective views rather than to promote particular directions. For some topics, we cover possible options and consequences rather than what is best or most likely. Based on a factual historical analysis, we can have no certainty that humanity will continue to progress intellectually, spiritually and politically. But our historical analysis does give us grounds for hope: some open societies have survived existential crises, and though some nations of the world are still closed, and some powerful nations are still recalcitrant, the world as a whole is better off. Further grounds for hope are that there are known strategies to address most of the crises we face, such as the population explosion, climate change, pollution, pandemics, and financial crises. There is of course disagreement about these, promoted by commercial interests and countries pushing their own national interests. But hopefully greater education of the electorate will lead politicians to adopt better policies.  Recalcitrant countries may one day see that addressing global issues is in their own interest. Finding and promoting this political will to take action is most uncertain part. We look at how we know what we know under the following topic headings:
This is the current summary of our conclusions in this area: Now free market capitalism has triumphed over communism we have excessive consumption, nations struggling to control complex financial systems, population growth and increasing pollution per head threatening our environment, and a risk of a collapse of global society, unless we devise strategies to fix these issues.  more                                                             Statement 20 The global crises we face require concerted action, so we need to develop and promote globally accepted beliefs and values to provide the basis for addressing these issues.
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