The Post-Global World?

[haplotype]

Much of today's "global economy" and "internationalism" is driven by inequalities in wealth.

What if, in the not-so-distant future, there comes a day when it costs exactly as much to build a widget in China as anywhere else? If every country offers identical lifestyles, where everyone lives in suburban homes, drives to work, eats microwaved food, complains about the same trivial political issues, watches mass murders at shopping malls on TV every few months? Where women from every country act the same, there are just as many single mothers here as there, just as many teenage hoodlums in hooded sweatshirts causing trouble in public places?

In such a world, will there be any incentive left to trade internationally? Will people want to immigrate? If fuel costs continue to rise, will international travel, imported goods be affordable only for the super-rich? In such a world, will people happily stay in the same place as where they were born, and will interracial people become extremely rare?

My perspective from Alabama, where there are few immigrants, no tourism, no export industries, but has a booming economy serving the domestic market. Will not other parts of the world become increasingly like Alabama, content with stability?

[juancarlos]

What a boring world that would be!!!

[haplotype]

What will big cities have to offer in the future? As communication technologies improve, there are fewer reasons to live there. New York today no longer has any stock exchanges; transactions are carried out at regional offices in Connecticut or Pennsylvania. "Wall Street" is just a figure of speech referring to banks that used to have headquarters there. Hollywood makes fewer movies on site, as films are increasingly made in other cities, with computer graphics effects added by technicians elsewhere. High-paying corporate jobs are increasingly found in "off-site" campuses far from big cities. Universities, hospitals, all are being built away from cities that have run out of physical space. Throughout the world, high-tech jobs and prestige is shifting to "technology parks" built 10-20km from the city center.

The cultural trend of "environmentalism" devalues city life. People would rather live surrounded by the woods, with several pets.

[long]

My take:

Individuals will always be different. There will always be discontents looking to change something. Creativity will never die. Peace and global stability are certainly not evils.. would WW3 be preferable to you? Cultural differences aren't entirely benign.

People will still travel - there will always be regional differences based on climate and geography at the bare minimum - these will translate into cultural differences. Homogeneity will never occur.

Interracial people will not become more rare, I'd say they'll increase as disparate cultures find more common ground.

There is no reason to assume trade will decrease, specialization will encourage trade just as it always has. Trade will increase as more countries join the world economy.

- I hope you're not seriously worried about this.

[haplotype]

Is the world more creative today? Or will we see a future of young people with their tattoos, body modifications, banging out their terrible music on electric guitars, building their abstract metal sculptures, making yet another video game, and calling themselves "creative"?

Will places look different? So-called desert locations are home to artificially watered lawns and forests. Increasingly, every place on Earth has eucalyptus trees, pansies, and dandelions. Tropical locations increasingly offer indoor ski ranges with real snow, while colder climates have tropical vegetation in greenhouses, and billboard advertisements of tropical scenery saturating the landscape.

Paradoxically, as cultures become closer together, they tend to hate each other more. Countries such as Canada or Europe, which offer identical lifestyles to America, are foaming-at-the-mouth anti-American. As the countries of East Asia become increasingly identical in lifestyle, skinheads have dominated internet forums, meticulously finding bad news from other countries to prove the other country is inferior. All-out war is unlikely, but the similarity fuels tensions and segregation.

What economic specialization will occur in the future? Universities throughout the world are training people in the same skills, producing graduates that work in the same jobs. Even the difference in quality of education is decreasing, as "prestigious" universities become burdened with aging buildings, lazy children of alumni, and mandates to admit underprivileged students.

[long]

You've put a lot of thought into this but I believe your fears are misplaced and far too cynical.

Quick response: Yes; art will continue to evolve; Yes- there will always be geographical and climate differences (we'll probably even engineer some more); I strongly disagree, Canada is not going to be attempting any genocides in the near future; Specialization will continue because it's profitable, people will always like variety.

[haplotype]

I don't believe I have said anything cynical. Given the same opportunities, same freedoms, people tend to converge toward the same lifestyle. Most people do not like urban overcrowding or rural isolation, so they pick an inbetween suburban lifestyle. Most people do not like excessively barren or excessively dense landscapes, so they pick an inbetween suburban vegetation. Most people don't want hot weather or cold weather all the time, so they create artificial environments.

[long]

I suppose that you didn't say anything cynical in the limited sense that you didn't say anything... you just asked a bunch of cynical questions.

[cm]

I don't see too many suburbs in the future because of the rising price of oil. We've seen how ineffective mass transportation is in LA, I doubt they can do any better. There will probably be more cities, with reversion back to using barges and freight trains as transportation, with energy sources closer to home, due to the loss of transporting it over large distances.

As for culture, yes, we will become one culture due to the internet and television. 200 million people watched Yao Ming go against Yi Jianlian. Basketball is the 3rd most popular sport in the US (i believe) but that night, the NBA garnered more viewers than any super bowl.