2018 Predictions: The Positive, The Negative & The Remarkable: Published 1/12/18. (Stay Tuned for follow up in late March!)
2018 will inevitably be a banner year of change. These changes will affect how people around the world live and think and the beginnings of this process are already visible and so, the results are perhaps somewhat predictable. Here is a short rundown of the good, the bad, and the remarkable things that may change this year on a large socio-economic scale.
The Good: Every inefficiency in the realm of big business is being eliminated. This will have its largest visible effect on how we live in the actual towns and cities we call home. Small businesses which prioritize quality products and services as well as community oriented method are highly likely to experience an upswing. Eurasia seems to be illustrating this on a giant scale as the Chinese Government (PRC) has decided to rebuild the silk road connecting China and 68 other nations by a highway. New fuels are being developed with much more capacity and effective computerized machines are being developed to do taxing and dangerous jobs in the near future. For those people living off or nearby, these innovations will experience a particular growth in quality of life and likely with that living standards. Cooperative people will flock to these communities to avoid all the established division. For those disconnected, digital technology continues to innovate trade and education which are making investment easier hopefully giving many people more control of their lives. Cryptocurrencies will continue to rise gradually with the new market and promise to be a reliable short-term investment opportunity with predictable booms and busts.
Millennials are coming of age to affect the political spectrum in a big way. They are now the biggest voting demographic around the world and the resounding message on their part seems to be that they do not feel represented by any of the major parties or governments and we are heading in the wrong direction. What is predicted by many is that this will develop a new party that most closely represents the libertarian vision of free domestic grassroots markets and de-emphasis on war. This will also probably come with some adaptions from the democratic party or European democratic socialists in matters of the social safety net. This would revitalize politics and culture by more accurately illustrating people's wants and beliefs and where they disagree.
Bad: Since large companies of all industries are merging and as mentioned before the wheat is being separated from the chaff in that realm people who rely on goods, services and jobs from these companies that may be showing signs of inefficiency or a lack of care might find themselves losing their connection to some vital resource or even their very own jobs. Groups that are too large and insufficiently oriented will crumble, be consumed or most likely both. Self-driving domestic cars will likely be a bust though billions have been invested in the idea and a fuel effective electric car does not seem right around the corner. Those left out of the innovative, cooperative upswing mentioned before will see their education opportunities continue to crumble and large corporate goods, services and media continue to degrade. With war seemingly inevitable between Iran, Yemen, Russia and the West (though the majority on earth seems against it) many people around the world will likely see their currencies plummet in value even more and many in the Middle East will see their lives destabilized in a very dangerous way by some event or war. All this has the potential to kill entire towns that are not adequately socioeconomically stable and for many people through no fault of their own, this may mean having to change their jobs, lifestyles or move altogether.
Politically, since both parties are seemingly defunct and the sociopolitical paradigm is changing, standard currencies and all digital currencies to a degree will crash and what value is not lost in property is likely to skyrocket. Many of the old methods and perhaps even the old goals of the political status quo will likely be stripped away. Many people have dedicated their lives to these political and social initiatives and the prospect that the entire political stage as we know it is still changing drastically could quickly invalidate all of them. This can be disheartening. However, if there is a problem that needs to be solved or a goal that needs to be reached then our advice is to keep at it and use the new playing field to reassert why and ideally how.
Remarkable: Cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ripple ... etc) privately regulated and monitored through Blockchain technology has provided an opportunity for people to invest in a market far separated to the centrally regulated federal markets they are used to. These currencies, as a rule, are digital but are regulated to a certain amount that can be infinitely divided and traded between private owners. A fiat currency without government regulation or inflation caused by printing represents an asset with economic value that rises and falls based on peoples demands of it. Though that is true of every asset economically these currencies with such little government regulation promise regular booms and busts, and the insurance that if inflation of the dollar and euro and so on continue they will grow more securely valuable every passing moment. A separate economic system that is self-regulated and based on fiat in effect already represents a new sociopolitical order that will hopefully serve the needs of the coming years.
This promises to be a landmark year of change that will define how the new millennium continues. Don't get swept up in the storm. Let's ride the waves together to calmer seas.
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Sources
1: https://blockgeeks.com/guides/what-is-cryptocurrency/
2: https://www.theverge.com/2018/1/12/16883510/self-driving-car-poll-congress-bill-safety
3: http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/12/are-we-going-to-war-with-iran.html
4: https://blockgeeks.com/guides/what-is-blockchain-technology/
5: https://www.technavio.com/blog/top-14-companies-in-the-smart-education-and-elearning-industry
7: https://hbr.org/2017/12/what-the-big-mergers-of-2017-tell-us-about-2018
8: http://www.pewresearch.org/topics/millennials/
9: http://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/nov-retail-sales-growth-near-2-year-high
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