NationStates Jolt Archive

This is just an innocent piece of conjecture I'm putting out here. The question is simple: What do YOU think that the future has in store for the United States of America?

Excluding any sort of historical oddity, the way things are going now, both in foreign relations and in domestic relations (from a US perspective), do you think that the next fifty years of the United States will be either good or bad? 100? 150? 200?

Again, this is all pure conjecture - we have no way of telling if any of the predictions are credible. I'm just curious to see how other people see or think the United States will do. Will it thrive? Will it collapse? Will it struggle? To the more paranoid of you, take over the world?

If we continue to be ruled by the corporatist authoritarians and the nanny-state authoritarians, it’s going to be bad, but if a true free market party with a liberal social policy can take over, we will continue to thrive, and guess what? So will everybody else. Not because we meddle in your affairs, but because we will treat you as equals in trade, knowing that our markets rely on each other, and that we are not all-powerful.

Very near future - US moves even further to the right as Bush's judges, Bush's new SCOTUS judge are pushed through. Guantanamo remains open. Torture remains an issue. Iran and N Korea are sitting on the sidelines but not full on conflicts. US influence remains the same, relations with Europe and China are acceptable.

Near Future - US is unwilling to maintain large and expensive military presence in Iraq for the 12 years that it could take to defeat the insurgency, thus it withdraws slowly, under a policy of Iraqization(see Vietnam war). Iraq remains in bad shape, Iraqi forces prove less than effective. The government may survive but it won't be pretty. A black eye for the US, further divides the nation. Next president after bush is a more moderate but still rather conservative white male, who beats Hillary Clinton in '08. Barring unforseen events, Iran and N Korea remain untouched. Roe v. Wade rights in serious jeopardy.

Future - Peak oil (http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/). World economy collapses. US, EU and China wage military campaigns for dwindling accessable oil, with the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa as the main victims, possible World War resulting. Massive social and political upheaval.

Those are my predictions. Please hold your applause to the end.

I personally think there will be a shift. It will be necessary, as the depletion of our fossil fuels is inevitable AND imminent.

Idealy, we start making a gradual shift away from oil, now. Later, less funding will be placed on security and military funding, as we move it towards renewable energy research.

Worst case scenario; the corporations and the government ignore the problem at large, and don't begin to do anything about it until it is too late. We slip into a second depression as prices skyrocket, and a massive energy crisis hits the country, as the greater majority can no longer afford to heat their homes.

...What makes me think we're most likely heading for the latter...?

Canada is the Scandinavia of the Americas,

Latin America is the Africa of the Americas (with Argentina corresponding to South Africa)

and the USofA is the Middle East of the Americas...

I think that ALL of america wild be deforsted, with mountain lions supposedly dying off.

Polotics wise, I think laws will probably get tighter (no gay rights, no abortion) until there aren't as many freedoms as our founding fathers wanted.

After so many years of socialist/marxist/liberal rule it is going to take awhile to turn things around in education and our judicial system but their monopoly on these institutions has been effectively identified and steps are under way to correct the injustices imposed on our society by these people. My only regret however is that these people choose my party to infect in their quest to destroy us from within. I would really like to have it back, but, I am afraid the democratic party is doomed forever. Where ever these people go they trash the names they steal for all time.

Everything will come crashing down in 10-30 years. Our rising $7.8 trillion debt will drag the entire world down under with us. The peak oil crisis will come very soon as more and more people buy and drive cars. That in itself will bring the "civilized" world to a standstill. We will run out of other natural resources to sustain a larger population as it is expected to double by 2050. The future of the world doesn't look good.

But don't call me pessimist! I expect to be financially secure until I have to give 90% of my income to the government so they can pay of Bush's debt! :D

Next 10 yrs - Problems still going on in Iraq, though American and other foreign troop levels have been reduced to somewhere around 50,000 to 70,000. Iran will not be able to deploy any nukes it has built, thanks to Israeli sabotage or military strikes (with US help or just basically turning a blind eye). N. Korea will remain more or less in the state it is today, more of an outsider even with any nukes it has. China will be a major competitor to US trade policy, having passed the US. China will still threaten Taiwan, but will most likely not have taken military action against it yet due to American support for Taiwan.

Fuel prices will continue to rise, as will inflation, driving out more and more people from the middle class towards the lower spectrums of the pay scale. The American deficit will still be around, but will not be overwhelmingly huge, due to the changing policies of the adminstrations during this time have helped shrink and expand the deficit (kinda like a see-saw idea). Immigration policies in the US will become the top priority, after troop levels from Iraq come down. Mexico will take on new importance, due to the overwhelming amount of immigrants (both legal and illegal) coming from that nation compared to the amount coming from every other nation.

In 20 yrs - Major war will have happened or will be on the verge of starting. Causes will either be slowing fuel supplies, trade, or in response to one countries aggressive nature towards one of its neighbors. Major players will be US, China, Britain, Japan, much of the African continent or South America (as of right now, coin toss South America or Africa IMO).

Alternative fuel sources will be much more common than present, with nuclear power supplying much of electrical power needed for the US. Electric cars become more common, though a good amount still run on gas and need oil. US culture will have decayed greatly, with tv ratings non-existant, children taught/see sexual activites before the age of 3, and the US basically becoming a modern-day Roman Empire during the last years of that empire's reign.

50 yrs from now - End of the world in the Apocolypse.

If we continue to be ruled by the corporatist authoritarians and the nanny-state authoritarians, it’s going to be bad, but if a true free market party with a liberal social policy can take over, we will continue to thrive, and guess what? So will everybody else. Not because we meddle in your affairs, but because we will treat you as equals in trade, knowing that our markets rely on each other, and that we are not all-powerful.

free market and liberal social policy do not jive with one another:

part of your liberal social policy will doubtlessly include increased taxes for the middle and upper classes... which means less economic freedom. Economic freedom is a linchpin of free enterprise.

Liverbreath']After so many years of socialist/marxist/liberal rule it is going to take awhile to turn things around in education and our judicial system but their monopoly on these institutions has been effectively identified and steps are under way to correct the injustices imposed on our society by these people. My only regret however is that these people choose my party to infect in their quest to destroy us from within. I would really like to have it back, but, I am afraid the democratic party is doomed forever. Where ever these people go they trash the names they steal for all time.

Yessss... those darned socialists, secretly ruining the US... causing everything that plagues our society to date with thier desire for equality.... sheer unadulterated evil if you ask me! How dare I not be allowed to live like a king while others starve or are crippled by disease! How dare they say I have to give my money to help my fellow man! It's practically inhuman!

And they're sneaky too! I mean secretly running(and ruining) America while keeping up the effective facade of capitalism... damn sneaky. I mean I look around - uninsured poor, massive coroporations, Wal-Mart... damn if I wasn't so enlightened by Liverbreath I might just think America was one of the most capitalist societies on the face of the earth! All the while these sneaky bastards are running the country as a ev1l soc1al1st d1ctatorsh1p!!!oneoneone111![/sarcastisizer]

You sir have earned this rolleyes smilie - :rolleyes:

(Unless of course you were doing that as some kind of joke, then har har har. But it sounded serious. To me.)

as for my prediction:

72 years from now:

Kim Jong Il III's country is down to only about 200,000 people, given the fact that he and his father and his grandpa had been starving their constituents for the past 100 years or so... he's in a bind, and when a megalomaniac with a serious short-guy complex is in a bind, he comes out punching. He sees the US, still the richest country on Earth, and he salivates. So he launches 50 nukes at Washington, 100 at NYC, 100 at Los Angeles, 50 at the Bay Area and 50 at Chicago in a takeover bid.

His plan to take over the US is foiled by the US's new trillion-dollar SuperThunderAnti-MissileProliferationSystem (STAMPS), which destroys all of the nukes over the atlantic and pacific oceans.

The US fires back a thousand nukes at north korea, and north korea is destroyed. radiation is kept from entering china and south korea by the large bio-protector atomic shields that had been erected in 2054 on the Sino-NK and SK/NK borders.

Paris starts berating the US...

free market and liberal social policy do not jive with one another:

part of your liberal social policy will doubtlessly include increased taxes for the middle and upper classes... which means less economic freedom. Economic freedom is a linchpin of free enterprise.

No. I advocate “true” or classic liberalism. As in, the government stays out of people’s private lives. It has nothing to do with raising taxes. In fact, it aspires to their near elimination.

Yessss... those darned socialists, secretly ruining the US... causing everything that plagues our society to date with thier desire for equality.... sheer unadulterated evil if you ask me! How dare I not be allowed to live like a king while others starve or are crippled by disease! How dare they say I have to give my money to help my fellow man! It's practically inhuman!

And they're sneaky too! I mean secretly running(and ruining) America while keeping up the effective facade of capitalism... damn sneaky. I mean I look around - uninsured poor, massive coroporations, Wal-Mart... damn if I wasn't so enlightened by Liverbreath I might just think America was one of the most capitalist societies on the face of the earth! All the while these sneaky bastards are running the country as a ev1l soc1al1st d1ctatorsh1p!!!oneoneone111![/sarcastisizer]

You sir have earned this rolleyes smilie - :rolleyes:

(Unless of course you were doing that as some kind of joke, then har har har. But it sounded serious. To me.)

Hmmm let me guess. 13?

I see us out of Irad in hopefully the next 5 years or so, which will free us up to take care of North Korea and Iran...

Democrats will, if they use some common sense, move more towards the center, Along with quite a few Republicans. We'll continue to have Republican presidents for a while (I see for the next 12 years about), and the House and Senate will continue to move to the right. Roe V. Wade will be overturned, with provisions. The government will hopefully get out of marriage altogether. Stem cell research will have been legalised. Marijauna will be legalised. I see another economic boom like that of the 90's coming in about 5 years. All in all, things should stay the same as they are now.

But we'll see.

Liverbreath']Hmmm let me guess. 13?

Hmm let me guess. Ad hominem?

The truth is that I have little or no clue what is in the future even a few years from now. I can say, however, that the current signs aren't good: economically, we are turning America into a sharecropper society. Socially, we are in the middle of a full-blown culture war, neither side seems willing or capable of understanding the other, much less calling a truce. Internationally, we have effectively constructed our own noose with our insistence that we go it alone in Iraq. Domestically, we have skyrocketed the deficit in order to pay for our little sojourn in Iraq, while at the same time we've raised a generation of Americans who cannot accept the mere concept of "collective responsibility," much less its application.

Now, that doesn't mean that the U.S. won't pull out of our current nosedive. We have done so before in the Civil War and WWII. But in the near-term, we are soon going to have to come to grips with what conservatives of various stripes have done to the infrastructure of our society, as well as the fact that they have destroyed any international support we might have received. We've got some very dark days approaching.

, while at the same time we've raised a generation of Americans who cannot accept the mere concept of "collective responsibility," much less its application.
A good thing, IMO.

The future of the United States looks as bad as the brown acid that made the rounds at Woodstock. Worse, even. At least the brown acid would wear off in 10 or 12 hours. The US' bad trip looks like it'll take multiple generations or a civil war to overcome.

No. I advocate “true” or classic liberalism. As in, the government stays out of people’s private lives. It has nothing to do with raising taxes. In fact, it aspires to their near elimination.

That is libertarianism, not liberalism.

As for my prediction:

20 years from now: Europe is taken over by radical Islam. They had been openly threatening to convert or kill everyone in their path. They are also aided by the so-called "moderate muslims." Europe has become too feminized, homosexualized, and have lost too much will to stem the tide of Islamic Nazis as the way their for-fathers stopped Hitler.

40 Years from: The united states starts to follow Europe on their way to becoming an islamic state due to constant appeasment by the socialist left, who had also worked for 80 years to destroy the United States from within. The Chinese invade at our moment of weakness. Our complete lack of industry due to heavy regulations, lawsuits, and "free-trade" means that we are unable to stop the chinese who have bought up many world industries already. We are crushed under their war machine. Islam and China battle for controll of the United states. Either way, we become a slave nation.

The future of the United States looks as bad as the brown acid that made the rounds at Woodstock. Worse, even. At least the brown acid would wear off in 10 or 12 hours. The US' bad trip looks like it'll take multiple generations or a civil war to overcome.

"What you need is a civil war." - Julius Caesar. :D

Current generation starts to value leftism, corporations and American politics slide further down the hole, after 50 years or so, another civil war happens.

Either that or America will stop following "christianity's" lead, and we'll fall into a beautiful liberal socialist dream.

Yay! Another chance to post an hour and a half of my life - in wasted form:

2005-2010
The world continues much as it has so far.
American troops eventually end the occupation of Iraq, but maintain a sizeable force on their military bases in the country. Insurgents still cause some uncertainty, but the now well equipped and ruthless Iraqi Security Police cracks down on any Islamic movements with great efficiency.
In Central Asia, much goes on as it has before. Some old dictatorships are overthrown and replaced by new ones, which all try and get support from the various powers.
India and Pakistan finally sign a peace and friendship treaty, and work towards an independent Kashmir, which is to be included in a new South-Asian free trade zone.
The Republicans continue to dominate US-Politics, with Hillary Clinton the last democrat to get even close to Jeb Bush’s numbers. Social Security and Retirement funds are privatised and monopoly laws are softened. The US Economy thrives on this, while the poor become poorer and public schooling becomes a nightmare. All in all, things are looking good though.
China continues to modernise, spending hundreds of billions on improved infrastructure and improving local industries. US trade officials still demand the Yuan to be freely floated, but cheap Chinese Labour is too important as that anyone could force China to do so. Relations with Taiwan remain largely as they are now.
In Europe, the fall-out of the failed constitution of 2005 continues to weaken all efforts to coordinate policies. Britain states repeatedly that it sees the EU as an FTA without any political function and resists any movement into that direction. The Russian government and EU-Leaders though declare a closer friendship treaty that is to open the way for an alliance of interests in later times.
The UN is reformed, with Germany, Brazil and Japan receiving permanent seats without veto-power. An African representative is planned but never introduced. Global Warming is still an unimportant issue, while crops in the third world and in Australia suffer from droughts and tropical storms claim hundreds of lives.
Islamic Terrorist Groups, such as Al Qaeda slowly fade away, as Osama Bin Laden suffers a stroke and dies, never to have been found or arrested. Ayman Al-Zawahiri vows to continue the struggle, but as the times change, new recruits become scarce and the war on terror becomes a thing of the past.

2010-2020
A new war in the Balkans stretches NATO to its limits, as the US-Government refuses to get involved. Popular opinion is against helping the Europeans, and NATO is quietly disbanded. EU Peacekeeping forces are greatly stretched, but manage to keep control in key areas, as diplomats begin negotiations. In the end, the EU is successful, as the Balkans become peaceful members of the EU and continue their rivalries diplomatically.
In the early 2010’s a shock goes through the world economy, as a popular movement inspired by Islamic clerics as well as Western democratic activism launches a revolution in Saudi Arabia. Thousands die as armed forces and demonstrators clash all over the country. US-officials are unsure how to react, as this is a popular, largely democratic movement against an autocratic regime. American popular opinion is also against any involvement in the issue. When the Saudi royal family is overthrown and killed however, the result is a massive break-in of stock prices all over the world. Hardest hit is the US, as trillions in Saudi-Investment suddenly disappear or are claimed by others and oil prices hit $100 per barrel.
In Iraq, a revolt of Sunni Muslims leads to civil war, splitting Iraq into three parts: Kurdistan, the Arabic Republic of Iraq and the South-East, which is eventually annexed by Iran.
In Europe the economies crumble as well, as Central Asian and Russian suppliers find themselves unable to fulfil oil demands. The Alliance between the EU and Russia is never realised, as all countries are once again drawn into a great depression.
China is very badly hit as well. As foreign demand diminishes and resources become harder to procure, China finally decides to float the Yuan and reform its banking system. The result is a collapse similar to those in the US and the EU, leaving the government on the ropes. For a time it looks like civil war could break out, but compassionate pleas from many sides bring the masses back from the brink, and the communist party is disbanded. Two new forces take its place, one Maoist party and a new direction, forming a curious mix of Chinese nationalism, Confucianism and Capitalism. This new party wins the general election and rules the nation for the years to come.
Israel suffers greatly under the sudden stop of US-aid and the spiralling world economy, leaving the Prime Minister with no choice but to downsize the armed forces and push for an immediate settlement with the Palestinians. A Palestinian state is created in the following year.
In the US the economic collapse has catastrophic consequences. As tax revenue crumbles, the Government cuts its spending as demand for its bonds is near nil, and no more funds are available. The space program is discontinued, as is much military research and an overhaul of national education systems. Furthermore, the democrats have now faded almost out of the picture, with the filibuster gone and public opinion firmly directed against weak-minded liberals. Strong nationalism leads to aggressive tariffs and quotas being introduced against foreign companies, who are often blamed for the economic collapse.

2020-2030.
The World is gradually recovering from the collapse. Oil continues to become scarce, and global warming has now made farming unviable in much of Australia, Southern Africa and so on, but the priorities of the world are on other things.
In the US, Fox Media has offered to buy the struggling CNN, the last news corporation other than Fox. When the US Government isn’t forthcoming with a decision, Fox sues at the Supreme Court, which eventually rules in favour of Fox. Civil Rights Groups are outraged, many Republicans hail the decision as a landmark, and most Americans couldn’t care less, as they haven’t been watching much news anyways.
The EU is making headway politically after the UK had declared itself no longer a full member during the depression. A new constitution is introduced, abandoning most national governmental departments and parliaments and replacing them with European ones. At CERN French scientists develop the technology for the peaceful use of nuclear fusion. The EU quickly realises the possibilities and begins to construct fusion plants and exports energy.
India and Pakistan are also recovering and increase their influence over formerly American-controlled central Asian nations in an attempt to secure more oil reserves.
Russia has become more centralistic during the depression, but is mainly directing its interest at Central Asia as well.
The UN, which had faded almost out of existence during the depression is reconstructed, abandoning the security council and giving every country votes based on population and other factors.
In China, the new government completes its reforms and reconstruction efforts successfully, and is in a strong position. The second largest country on Earth, it presides over the strongest economy and a powerful, reformed and modernised military.
In Taiwan, a referendum is held on whether the island should join the new mainland, which is successful. Talks begin immediately, as Chinese police forces are invited on the island and hailed as friends. In America, this new development is very concerning. Fearing Chinese expansion and losing its presence in Asia, the US is determined not to let the two nations unite. When diplomatic pressure is ignored by the Chinese, US warships begin to move. North of Taiwan, there is first contact as a Chinese drone is shot down. When US Special Forces are found on Taiwan, the unified Chinese governments react with anger. A deadline is set for the US to leave the area. When American officials refuse, a massive upset hits the world. A taskforce carrier group of the US Navy was attacked by a swarm of Cruise Missiles, and a nuclear carrier was hit so badly that it sunk the following day. More than 1000 US Crewmembers die.
The following days are spent with waiting for imminent nuclear apocalypse, as the US Military asks the president for the right to hit back with all might. Only the combined pressure of the entire world, and a threat by all other nuclear powers to side with whoever is being shot at first convinces the US President to be the better man and back off. From this day on, the US Hegemony over the planet is over.

2030-2040.
In combined elections the people of Pakistan and India unite their nations once more to form the new largest economy on earth. Proclaiming that they are not interested in military power, they stay neutral.
The EU is finally declared one single state, ending 2000 years of intra-european rivalry and an FTA is declared with Russia. Furthermore, a new alliance (similar to the old EU) is declared between Europe and the nations of North Africa, Kazakhstan and its neighbours, as well as with Canada and later Mexico. American protests are ignored, as they are based on ideology without facts to support them. Nuclear fusion technology is used wherever a nation was ready to comply with certain criteria. China soon developed its own version but the US refused, slowly developing its own fusion technology based on a different approach.
In America, liberalism and anti-government sentiment has lead to a gradual disappearing of an ordered police force. Local groups and companies are vying for the right to take care of security, often at gun point, leaving behind an anarchy.
FoxNews is no longer showing news from the world outside the US. Immigration was outlawed during the depression, and the import quotas were gradually decreased to reach practically zero in order to protect US Companies.
In the Middle East, stable Islamic democratic states have developed in Egypt, Syria and the Arabian peninsula. Kurdistan is also solidified, as the EU has prevented Turkish intervention. Iraq is going well, while Iran has increasingly become freer and is now usually referred to as Persia, linking it directly with the empires of the past.
In China, the past is now looked upon as the Mao Dynasty, in one direct line from the first emperor. The nation has become the new power in the world, generally keeping out of affairs that don’t affect it directly, but always ready to intervene to protect its interest. The rest of the world becomes slightly sceptical and anti-sinoism becomes increasingly popular in Europe. ;)

2040+
Well, America has become more and more of an outcast internationally, but its tale is not over. Eventually it may recover, rebuilding itself on the platform of the American Dream. It may not be able to do so by itself, but a time comes when they will accept foreign help. Global Warming becomes a scourge, flooding vast pieces of land (the Netherlands, New York, Shanghai) and millions die in annual famines and shortages of drinking water. Eventually the climate will normalise, as fossil fuels are no longer used, but the damage is done. The UN becomes the standard forum for nations to disband old feuds, coordinate policies and rebuild the ravaged ecosphere. China’s time comes and goes, followed by the final unification of interests when the UN becomes the central government body for Homo Sapiens.
Man will eventually look to the stars again and build space ships to found colonies on Mars and beyond…:P

This is just an innocent piece of conjecture I'm putting out here. The question is simple: What do YOU think that the future has in store for the United States of America?

Excluding any sort of historical oddity, the way things are going now, both in foreign relations and in domestic relations (from a US perspective), do you think that the next fifty years of the United States will be either good or bad? 100? 150? 200?

Again, this is all pure conjecture - we have no way of telling if any of the predictions are credible. I'm just curious to see how other people see or think the United States will do. Will it thrive? Will it collapse? Will it struggle? To the more paranoid of you, take over the world?

I have faith in the USA. It's all I can do. There are five things I am worried about, though. Number one: the rise of the European Union. I would attempt to exploit the discord between them in terms of ratifying a constitution. I would try to enlist them as allies in the war on terror. Which brings me to the second threat: the war on terror. We must find a way to engage our enimies without making more, without getting stuck in a endless war, and without taking away civil liberties needlessly. Threat number three: Africa. With many raw resources, Africa, if courted by another strong power, could be a great ally. The USA needs to take steps to become closer friends with Africa, while soothing racial tensions in the contineit. Problem number four: Asia. North Korea, China- all are threats to the USA. We must court China, and create in it a great Asian Power, strong enough to manage Asia so we do not need to play world police, while insuring that it never gets strong enough to pass us. Threat number 5: the slant to the right in politics. If we cannot relaize what the conservative agenda could do to America, we have no chance of sucess in Economics or Forign Policy. That being said, I think the USA can remain a positive force in the world.

That is libertarianism, not liberalism.
I suppose it is. :D
Our complete lack of industry due to heavy regulations, lawsuits, and "free-trade" means that we are unable to stop the chinese who have bought up many world industries already. We are crushed under their war machine. Islam and China battle for controll of the United states. Either way, we become a slave nation.
So, are you a corporatist?

I suppose it is. :D

So, are you a corporatist?

No, no. I'm just an independant American Nationalist who is tired of seeing his country's boarder being left wide open and contantly being out-traded by the Chinese because they can produce productions at 1/4 the price and dump them on our shores. I'm sure corporations love favored trade status with china.

The future of the USA is just like a bomb ticking until the clock strikes that certain number then MASS chaos.

Horrible.

2010 - The US divides into about 50 induvidual states, and nuke the hell out of each other. The rest of the world happily makes every country prosperous, creates birth control, and a world government is formed, with an embargo on the now-smouldering US.

Horrible.

2010 - The US divides into about 50 induvidual states, and nuke the hell out of each other. The rest of the world happily makes every country prosperous, creates birth control, and a world government is formed, with an embargo on the now-smouldering US.

I think that was the story of a game I played once.

2010: Canada reveals their secret nuclear program that had been developing since the Joe Clark parliament.

2020: Iraq remains a mess although the government still stands (incredibly wobbly though). US and allied forces withdraw.

2030: World War III begins due to depletion of oil. US, China, UK, France, Pakistan, India, Israel, and Iran are all involved. 'The Great Nuclear Meltdown'.

2040: Nuclear winter. End of all life on Earth.

2040: Nuclear winter. End of all life on Earth.

2041: Kegger at Joe Clark's place.

This is just an innocent piece of conjecture I'm putting out here. The question is simple: What do YOU think that the future has in store for the United States of America?

Excluding any sort of historical oddity, the way things are going now, both in foreign relations and in domestic relations (from a US perspective), do you think that the next fifty years of the United States will be either good or bad? 100? 150? 200?

Again, this is all pure conjecture - we have no way of telling if any of the predictions are credible. I'm just curious to see how other people see or think the United States will do. Will it thrive? Will it collapse? Will it struggle? To the more paranoid of you, take over the world?

Bad. Unless the culture shifts into a similar culture as was present at this nation's founding. We will eventually lose our civil liberties to corporations, crooked politicians, and etc. They've already decided to extend the patriot act at the house. Where is the people's outcry? No where. And this nation is going to suffer in the future for it.

We need to add a course in Republican principles in school to counter the massive amount of apathetic fools in our country.

free market and liberal social policy do not jive with one another:

part of your liberal social policy will doubtlessly include increased taxes for the middle and upper classes... which means less economic freedom. Economic freedom is a linchpin of free enterprise.

A liberal social policy means staying out of people's private business. It jives perfectly well to staying out of people's monetary business; in fact it's the best bedfellow there could be.

Anyways, I suspect there will be strife and conflict, followed by a breakdown of order and a new set of nations which are interesting to behold, because the infrastructure of the world is so different in so many respects when compared for previous revolutions and national changes.

A lot of the future depends on how our alternative energy source research goes, though. Speculation is fun, but stating the future with certainty is a fool's game.

Speculation is fun, but stating the future with certainty is a fool's game.

Of course. I never made this thread so that people could state the future with what they thought was certainty. I just made it for speculation.

However, the pessimistic views of the US's future is kinda depressing, although it might be the most likely one. :p