Futudirection for Humanity? (was Don Davis article)

that evening out is going to be beneficial for under developed countries, but it could very well be hell for the developed countries ....

moving up is great, spiraling down sucks...
From: sraj
To: spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, April 04, 2006 1:05 AM
Subject: Re: [spacesettlers] Re: Future direction for Humanity? (was DonDavisarticle)

Omar E.Vega wrote ......

Globalization will make
> everything through the world more uniform: races, languages,
> education, standards of living, custums, etc. I hope by then mankind
> would be mature enough to stop fighting for small things and unite
> to conquer space.

Globalization makes little engineering sense. You would never for instance
connect all the houses in a colony with a 6 inch water line. If a tap were
to be left open by accident in one of the houses, all the water in the main
tank would drain out. It is interesting that economists who cannot think
beyond next year's growth rate and industrialists who cannot think beyond
the next quarter's profit are promoting this idea ..... I believe most
intellectuals distrust the idea of globalization, but don't have a platform
to express their ideas. The world press is likely to believe you only if you
talk in the language of $$. Since globalization is inevitable - because
geographical boundaries no longer exist - we should actually be
strategically resisting globalization, not embracing it.

I believe that in the short term globalization will be beneficial. But since
globalization will make us all vulnerable to the same problems (and human
nature being what it is) it can only lead to catastrophe in the long run -
especially if we continue to remain on planet earth and refuse to get off
it.

Selvaraj.

From: "Omar E. Vega"
To:
Sent: Tuesday, April 04, 2006 8:56 AM
Subject: [spacesettlers] Re: Future direction for Humanity? (was
DonDavisarticle)

> Hi Don, Friends,
>
>> It has been spoken of that the long term prospects for most
>>northern
>> hemisphere civilizations are to be exhausted and to varying degrees
>> devestated in wars, with the future mantle of leading powers to
>>emerge
>> from the nations which declined involvement in the 'battles between
>> the giants'. It may be in the interests of the hopes of eventually
>> realising space migration to spread the idea not just in the
> countries
>> now capable of participating but in those who may emerge in the
> next
>> century or so after 'our' time has passed, if we 'miss the boat'.
>> It will never be easier to get started than now.
>
> First, I am a South American (acually Chilean) so I would like to
> give you my oppinion from the other side of the world, looking at
> the Southern Cross instead to the Big Deeper.
>
> I don't think there will be any large war in the future. Perhaps
> only small scale wars between superpowers and small countries, like
> the ones on which the U.S. is been involved since the end of the
> Cold War. Pretty unbalanced wars indeed, and relatively easy to
> fight... for the superpower, of course.
>
> In a global scale I see Indian and China rising, which together with
> the East Asian countries may become one of the main superpower
> coalitions of the future. I also see Europe declining, because
> countries that can't reproduce themselves simply will be invaded by
> third world foreigners, and trouble will start pretty soon, if have
> not started already. I see Europe declining to third world leves in
> one century, or before. It would recover, though. It always happens.
>
> At the same time, I believe some "third world countries", like many
> from Latin America, will become part of the "new rich" elitte, and
> will behave like that. I also believe Latin America will ally
> economically with Asia, a trend that has started alredy, and that is
> not as strange as it might be thought at first.
>
> United States will continue to be a military superpower, but it is
> very likely its economical future won't be easy. More an more the
> world will need less products and services from the U.S. simply
> because the U.S. got rid of manufacturing. Trade balances will
> continue to be a disaster, at least something radical happens. If
> not, it is not known how much the U.S. could go into debt before the
> whole system colapses.
>
> Actually, that was precisely what happened to the Soviet Union: a
> military superpower with a third world budget.
>
> I see the centers of economical powers to distribute more evenly
> than today. Instead of all things passing throught the U.S., London
> or Germany, the alliances will be multilateral.
>
> South America will trade directly with China, for example, without
> need of buying through American or European intermediaries. Today,
> for instance, certain flights go directly from South America to
> Australia over the Antartida, without need to go to
> the "distribution centers" of the United States. I also see
> Australia in a strong alliance with both Asia and Latin America.
> Actually there are many who think the Pacific is the future.
>
> Companies like Mattel will cease to exist, because the brand will be
> put by the manufacturers, not the traders. In a world like that, the
> relative impact of the West will be less important with time,
> although the decline will be so slow that people won't notice at
> first.
>
> At the end, the world should get even. Globalization will make
> everything through the world more uniform: races, languages,
> education, standards of living, custums, etc. I hope by then mankind
> would be mature enough to stop fighting for small things and unite
> to conquer space. If we survive all the worst-case scenarios, I
> believe life will be better for all. Not only for the West but for
> all mankind.
>
> And with more education, I believe, Islam would be just a religion
> more between many to choose; if one wishes to choose one, of course.
>
> The west, like we know it today, won't exist anymore, but their
> legacy will remain: Democracy, Science, Free-Markets, Human Values.
> And the descendents of the Western People of today, most already
> mixed, will populate all the continents of the world.
>
> Nice dream or ugly nightmare? You choose.
>
> Regards,
>
> Omar Vega
>