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Personally, I see us being much less capitalistic in 2050. As robots and AI take over more and more jobs, even the jobs that have yet to be thought up/created, there will be less for people to do. Unless they want a revolution on their hands, the govt will have to make changes to the basic way our society works.
As such, I see the republicans falling out of favor (or drastically changing their platform).
At 2050, I am optimistic. Between here and there, not so much...
Incredibly pessimistic here. I hope to either have achieved my mountain home hideaway or else be dead by 2050. I see this society as heading for a very hard turn in the upcoming decades. Being that most news stories and all politics depress me, I try to shut most of that out so I can't say I have much to back up my feelings except what I hear from others [the media tries to scare everyone, so I have to take what little I hear from it (that little which unfortunately has invaded my enviroment) with a grain of salt]. It just seems like we're in a rut with no other hope except to tear it all down and start from the ground up, which would be devastating in itself. There is just so much corruption, lobbying, lies, greed, etc. In my opinion it is mostly greed which is a problem--I get the impression that so many others want more, more, and more. This excessive consumption, massive accumulation of things disgusts me. I hope I am wrong.
What I really hope is that not many people are like me. I know I have little place in this society except for in the fringe part of it. My heart and soul lie in another time (I wholeheartedly believe that if everyone thought and felt like me from the beginning of human existence, everyone would still be living in caves: we would be so nostalgic of this way of living, it would just be too devastating to have to leave that old-time rock fire circle and dirt ceiling... the thought of an actual house built of wooden planks would be much too modern).
No, technological advancement must occur to keep up with jobs/inflation/etc. What I personally feel is that a good percentage of people (at least in this country) have had it rather well off than their corresponding socio-economic counterparts in many other time periods. They have grown soft and are not used to struggle, used to having things handed to them; they do not appreciate hard work and understand what it means to have nothing. They feel entitled to so much more than they are capable of owning and caring for.
Yet this very well may be all in my pessimistic mind. I have been fortunate to know some wonderful people whose opinions and views are similar to my own. And truthfully, society has been corrupt from the beginning of time, so that much really hasn't change. I just get the impression and have to conclude from ill-studied logic that we're simply running out of resources. With the up and coming development of third world countries, the resources of the world are becoming even more spread out and thinned. I'm not sure how much more we can demand and demand and expect something to still be there.
I just don't understand the massive amounts of "wants" that people feel must be met in order to be happy with themselves; then when they have these things I get the sense that many are still depressed. I just do not understand it. It seems that many are filling that yawning void which exists in all of us with material things thinking that in this way they will not feel it much. Well I very well could be making this all up and this is not the way many people feel. As I stated, I have not studied much into this, have a very pessimistic outlook, and all this is just my impression.
I like to be optimistic. But, as more & more of the lazy, 'me, me, me, hand me everything, I don't want to actually do manual labor for anything' people come of age, the worse off we get. I cringe at the laziness here where I live today. I suspect it's everywhere, it's just been more evident the past 5 years I've lived here.
We are so vain as a society of plastic surgery & enhancements (PS many of those closest to me & whom I'm related to have it, so, it's not said outside the box lol) . I wish those who exercised so much would work as hard. PS I'm skinny & I worked hard from the time I was 15, until I had my 1st kid, after we bought a home & owned our cars at 28. I worked part time for 2 years after kids, & almost full time for 1 year. I now provide daycare cheaply for a neighbor for extra income. I guess I just wish many would realize they are great as they are, they don't need 'work done'. =( I'm a tall, skinny, t & basketball shorts or swishes wearing nerd. I really just don't care. I love me, my friends & my family love me, the end. lol
As less & less feel the need to 'fend for themselves' as the gov't will bail the out, the worse we'll get.
I understand struggle. Hubby's salary was cut by 1/3 a few years back from cut backs. It sucked, but we survived. We cut alot of corners. lol We persevered.
Too many 'give up'. Some have reason, many don't. Hubby entirely put himself through college. As did his sister, who also worked hard to succeed.
Last edited by TheViking85; 10-26-2011 at 03:33 PM..
Extremely pessimistic. Government monetary collapse before 2030, if not way before. Food lines, starving people, riots when the government gravy train ends. Can't borrow 1.5+ trillion dollars a year for 20+ more years, taxing the 1% of the population more isn't going to help. When the government is forced to cut the fat, this country will run red.
There won't be an "America" per se in 2050.
This country will be under asian rule, with any half-white, half-black, or half-hispanic people treated pretty much as the half-Indian folks were treated back in the 1800's. There will be a strict caste system, much as in India. Guess who will be the "untouchables".
But the work week will probably be longer, like 8-7...gas prices will probably be about $25 dollars a gallon, marlboros will probably be $35 a pack.You will have to have your own cow for milk.
MTA will still be in a deficit, the fare will probably be $15.00 a ride, the city will still be crying poverty The tolls here in NY will be 40 bucks a crossing. the roads will still be in disrepair...shall I go on.....
Like I said, hopefully I will be dead by that time.
By 2050, many new technologies that we can't even imagine will be made a reality. I predict the internet will continue to evolve. Bio-medical technology will also improve, perhaps alongside the internet giving humans the ability to download information directly to the brain via some sort of neurological implant. This will also open up new avenues of entertainment, as experiences, both sexual and non, could be given to us as well in this manner (think Total Recall). Perhaps even more exciting is the possibility for education. One could learn to drive, or even learn a new language with a simple download.
Computer processors may become so fast that they will reach a peak speed, in which all computations will be instant. Upgrading computers will be a thing of the past, as all memory and information will be up for grabs instantaneously in what we now call Cloud Computing but in the future may be referred to as "Linear." IBM's Watson is a primitive example of what this could be. I also predict this advance in computational technology will allow for the effective development of artificial intelligence. This technology will be implemented in houses, dubbed Smart Homes, and cars. Advanced robots will also become commonplace, just like cars have. Cars themselves will no longer run on gasoline, but will be powered through wireless power distribution.
I predict by this time humanity will have placed a man on Mars.
I think it will similar to today actually. In some ways this country is totally different from 40 years ago. In a lot of ways its the exact same.
I doubt that cars will run on gasoline by that time. Oil will be used in other products but not for cars.
I've heard of predictions that technology that runs on thought. I'm not so sure about that one. Implants used with cell phones will probably be happening. Stopping the aging process will be the biggest fad with generation X I'm sure.
Global warming will make weather a big issue. The weather channel will be the most watch channel in the world.
There will be unseen social calamities that will make my generation yearn for simpler times. Yet technology will make our lives better. There will be positive and negatives about the 2050s when compared to the 2010s just like when one compares now with the 1970s.
Ever since the Great InvAsian of '32 the Country-Formerly-Known-As-The-United-States (now, of course, called Little China) has become a sort of holding-tank for Mainland criminals - think a warm Siberia - and serves as a source of minor amounts of natural resources, mainly solar power, geothermal power and Mexican labor (legalized by the US in '14).
The marijuana and opium farms are still in their infancy but hold promise as cash crops for the Mainland's many global third-world customers. "Democracy" being a faint memory after the Great Occupation Riots of '12, the current Marxist / Communist system seems to work well for the few remaining natives thanks to "re-education" through such interactive television shows as "So You Think You Can Revolt?" and 24/7 re-runs of "Paris Hilton's Wild Kingdom".
Communes have become the de facto mode of housing, each containing exactly 200 members:
150 farmers / general laborers
35 breeders
10 political officers
4 administrators
1 trademark infringement officer
Spawn of breeders go to the State schools, where they are indoctrinated into the glories of hard work and discipline. Standardized testing during early teen years determines future occupational proficiencies. Formal education ends at 15 years and labor assignments are made at that time.
Breeders have been genetically altered to a 10 Male / 1 Female ratio, scientifically determined to be the most efficient for Little China's needs.
Travel is by foot or by bicycle. Only political officers and administrators are allowed motorized helium vehicles. Weather control is implemented successfully outside the temperate zone.
All members of communes begin their day with the recital of Party Lines and a vigorous half-hour taijiquan exercise session. Meals consist of rice, fish and vegetables, with triple-filtered water available on a rationed basis.
New Yang City is the center of commerce, while New Jingsy serves as the continental waste dump. The old Statue of Liberty, renamed "The Fall of The Proletariat" in '34, lies on her side in the Hudson Canyon.
PS: BBC-News recently reinforced the correctness of the current situation when they stated "This is the best destiny for the former Colonies, given the path they were following".
the commercialization of fusion power on the future of human civilization. ITER and later Demo are envisioned to bring online the first commercial nuclear fusion energy reactor by 2050. Using this as the starting point and the history of the uptake of nuclear fission reactors as a guide, the scenario depicts a rapid take up of nuclear fusion energy starting after the middle of this century.
I also think AI will become common and super fast computer systems that in 40 years would be almost impossible to imagine how adavanced they would be in 2011. But they would be able to process massive amounts of data.
Commerical space travel will become normal routine things
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The exciting world of the year 2050
