I began this blog over a year ago to share insights about our current times—and not just any insights, but those that show how the world order is evolving. We’ve covered a lot of ground, so as we close-out the year, now is a good time to recap.
We’ve seen how the world is no longer globalizing; neither is it nationalizing; rather it is regionalizing—where economies are starting to cluster into areas around the globe. We’ve seen how referendums are becoming more commonplace in national decision-making (e.g., BREXIT). We’ve seen how computer technologies are changing our world—especially artificial intelligence, block chain, and social media. We’ve seen how energy technologies, such as nuclear fusion and smart power grids, are emerging. We’ve also studied how China is growing in power with programs such as its Belt and Road Initiative.
These specific trends are important because they are the current expressions of much greater trends—archtrends—the highest-level trends that have shaped civilization since the dawn of humankind. Regionalism is the beginning of the next societal level jump. The increasing use of referendums signifies an impending governance basis shift. Computer technology will eventually become the next elevating innovation. Fusion and energy technologies will become the next preconditioning innovation. And China is the best example of a society effectively managing its four leadership power sources. These archtrends are highlighted in my book, World Leadership.
The current expressions show how real the archtrends are. They also show the archtrends are not going away—they will continue to drive human society as long as human society exists. Societies that align with them will gain power; those that ignore, oppose, or remain oblivious to them will lose power. In America, neither political party is making all the right moves since these trends do not conform to our political spectrum. That suggests that the best path forward is for both parties to learn how to work together again, to jointly discern the path forward.
Next year, this blog will shift focus to cover events as they happen, applying the trends we learned about this year to understand the broader context of how our world is being shaped. Happy holidays!
Photo: Neil Hamblin