(31 December 2022) I believe the 2020s, if they follow their current pattern, will be a decade of instability and chaos, politically, most importantly with a developing cold war, culturally with the culture wars, and economically with growing economies of tropical countries and with innovations in technology. It will be the unraveling of our current world order. With China forecasted to reach its peak regional power in 2027, and its demographic crisis slowly intensifying, the perfect ticking time bomb has been set. I think that, due to mutually assured destruction and the reliance of the Chinese and American economies on one another, this will manifest into many proxy wars rather than a third world war.
At the time of writing, it is almost 2023, and yet I remember the 2020 presidential debates live on television, a news anchor announcing that doctors had formally named the virus "COVID-19", and the exact feeling I got when I learned that the war in Ukraine had began. There were preludes to these events; I remember learning that a viral outbreak was imminent and I remember telling friends that Russia would invade Ukraine in late 2021.
The world is becoming increasingly like a bus swurving to avoid potholes, and everyone is just waiting for the next bump in the road with uncertain but acceptant faces, as if they just have to brave what lies ahead instead of screech about it.