Which future do you fear the most?

[K. Riehl]

Super bug or major war, mass starvation, even with all this if one out of ten thousand survive then humans will survive. The Black Plague killed as many as 20 million over a couple of generations. That was still only about 20% of the population at the time. This population was replaced in two generations. If the human race is reduced to a small fraction of the population it can survive living off the debris of current civilization.
Maybe then a more stable, long term, non-self destructive society will be formed to avoid the problems of today.
I doubt it though.

 

[Nikitta]

What I fear the most is an overprotected future in the way that we get banned from doing more and more things "for our own good" (and to avoid possible lawsuits) and being unhappy, no matter how natural a reason you might have, is considered a dangerous disease which you are given medicine for. If you refuse to take it, you're condsidered a danger to yourself and possibly your sorroundings.

We then become unimaginative zombies with no common sense left, both cursed by and getting more and more unable to do without all that "protection".

That thought scares me.

 

[dsmith]

How about a future like in Stirling's Dies the Fire, with the death of all technology? We are all so dependent on it now that survival would be very difficult. And no more Chronicles!

 

[Kitera]

Thats true, something like the black death is scary and very unpredictable. But then again, I'm scared of everything, don't ask why; apparently I was born that way =/

 

[apokalypsis]

The future I fear the most?

The world becomes one massive, totalitarian suburb. Every forest is cut down, built over, and the only plant life left is managed completely and totally. ... In other words, the people must never be stirred from their hedonism; they must never suffer; they must never understand that the world extends beyond their local community; they must never feel any true passion.

...

Yeah, that's my idea of a horrid future.

That's brilliant. Would make a great setting for a novel or short story.

 

[apokalypsis]

Overpopulation.

As it stands, people are living longer and longer.
There is also a drastic reduction in infant mortality.

Also-- People's decisions (people as a whole, I dont mean subgroups, I mean all people everywhere) to have children isnt declining.

If anything I see people trailing anywhere from a half dozen to a dozen offspring with them everywhere they go. And rest asurred those children will make at least half a dozen more infants, this is for everyone and everybody. A couple deciding to forgoe the having chidren? One in a million.

...

This isn't the future I'm scared of, its just one thats certain.

Got to differ with you on that one, Milk. An essay published in Foreign Affairs in 2004 or 2005 (which excerpted a book on the same subject) argued pretty convincingly that apart from war, famine, or disease, the population of this planet will probably level off around 2050 (at 10 billion or so), and then start declining. (Apologies for not having the exact source in front of me.)

The reason? Improved longevity and a higher standard of living. Regions like Latin America and the Middle East will see dramatic drops in birth rate. (Iran already has, thanks to free laser vasectomies.) Rich nations will continue to have lower birth rates, many going into negative population growth. (Japan's already there. Much of northern Europe to follow.)

The future may have a crisis of lack of "human capital" as an aging population lacks the strength of youth to keep things running. Of course, some of this could be remedied with more liberal immigration policies from the countries that are still producing more children, but aging, shrinking populations seem to indulge in xenophobia more than average.

Oh yeah, almost forgot: The Economist reported recently that something like 10% or more of women in Germany are not interested in ever bearing children. As one UCLA professor pointed out, the rich, liberal societies of the West are birth-controlling themselves out of existence.

 

[Talysia]

I think the future I fear the most is one where we've ruined the Earth with our pollution, whether it be from carbon emissions or some other format, like bacterial/chemical weapons. I'd hate to be in a world where the air is no longer fit for humans to breathe without serious medical problems, especially since it would probably force an even bigger gap between the rich and the poor (those who can afford proper filters - if any are available - and those who can't.)

 

[jackarcalon]

-Any future that looks too much like the past.
-stagnation through bureaucracy. The powers that be want to maintain themselves, and centralize authority. You might not know why, but opportunities vanish, and the world seems to get more boring.

 

[j d worthington]

Jackarcalon, that sounds one hell of a lot like the present to me....

(Well, except for the world getting more boring. There's plenty of interesting stuff going on... it's just that most of us are too busy coping with the other parts of your scenario to enjoy them...)

 

[Curt Chiarelli]

I'll second that motion!

 

[apokalypsis]

Anyone else out there seen (the DVD of) Mike Judge's 2006 film Idiocracy? That's about the scariest future I can think of -- and seems surprisingly likely. Got to say, though, I died laughing at the sequence of the "Great Garbage Avalanche of 2505."

Btw, Fox tried to squash this movie (which lampoons Costco, Starbucks, umm, Fox News, energy drinks, and other American institutions). It wasn't great storytelling, but the setting and supreme idiocy of the proletariat-run society of the future make this a must-see.

 

[Neal Asher]

Here's a thought, maybe the future to fear is one where there is no war and no possibility of war, or, more importantly, revolution. Imagine all governments amalgamated into one worldwide superstate with nothing to check its power and interference and no borders beyond which you can flee. A great grey bureaucracy would be wrapped around the planet sucking the life out of everything. Everything would be standardized, every movement watched and hordes of governement officials would be making new regulations based on the input of focus groups and statisticians: 0.0023% of the world population choke on peanuts; all peanuts must be crushed and sold as peanut butter etc. Mmmm, not what does all this remind me of?

 

[Azathoth]

Everything would be standardized, every movement watched and hordes of governement officials would be making new regulations based on the input of focus groups and statisticians: 0.0023% of the world population choke on peanuts; all peanuts must be crushed and sold as peanut butter etc. Mmmm, not what does all this remind me of?

Y'know, come to think of it, this is the second time this week I've seen a child trip and fall down. I should really report this to the Department of Safety; maybe we can bubblewrap all the children in the world?

 

[Nikitta]

I work at a callcenter and some of the people calling in scare me a bit. Not because of what they don't know (after all, if they knew, there'd be no point in calling us to ask), but because of their general helpless attitude, like "What am I going to dooo? I can't do that! What am I going to dooo?!" without even giving it a serious try.

I fear a world catering 100% to them and the results of it.

 

[jackokent]

Jackarcalon, that sounds one hell of a lot like the present to me....

(Well, except for the world getting more boring. There's plenty of interesting stuff going on... it's just that most of us are too busy coping with the other parts of your scenario to enjoy them...)

That's a good point JD. We are all being very negative about the present and of course there is a lot to fear about it, but it is also great. I do not subsribe to the view that things are going down hill and getting worse particularly. Call me an optimist but there were always bad things going on right back from when we were cave men. The world is changing, maybe something are worse, but some things are definately better. Global warming again my be a threat, it may be an answer to over population.

There's all kinds of things to fear in the future, there always was and there always will be, but I don't think the current is as bleak as we always make out. If I listed all my fears I'd need a computer wiht a bigger memory but in the end I drink, I smoke, I eat junk food and these are likely to get me in the end, and it'll all be my fault. I've shaped that future.

I can't see up colonising other planets very soon. We don't seem organised enough.

I guess the future I fear the most is one without books.

 

[Frozeninja]

Just been reading through this thread, we're a cynical lot aren't we?

What's worse it I agree with most of it.

 

[Chun the unavoidable]

It may be that Huxley had it right with "Brave New World". Seem to be lots of Alphas (or wanna-be's) around.

 

[j d worthington]

Anyone else out there seen (the DVD of) Mike Judge's 2006 film Idiocracy? That's about the scariest future I can think of -- and seems surprisingly likely. Got to say, though, I died laughing at the sequence of the "Great Garbage Avalanche of 2505."

Btw, Fox tried to squash this movie (which lampoons Costco, Starbucks, umm, Fox News, energy drinks, and other American institutions). It wasn't great storytelling, but the setting and supreme idiocy of the proletariat-run society of the future make this a must-see.

Having not seen the film, I'd not made any comments. But I just had someone provide me with some links for some clips from it... and what we have here, kiddos, looks one hell of a lot like a rip-off of C. M. Kornbluth's "The Marching Morons". I mean, one HELL of a lot! Read the story, then look at the clips (or the film), and you'll see what I mean. Except... Kornbluth's story is smarter, and a bit more vicious in its social commentary, from what I've seen here. And nowhere is he given credit, that I can see...

Idiocracy (2006)

The Marching Morons - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Now, unless I missed a credit on there somewhere, I think I smell a very nasty lawsuit in the offing.....

 

[j d worthington]

Sorry for the double-post, but... for those who are interested in seeing what I mean:

YouTube - Idiocracy - At the Hospital

YouTube - idiocracy intro

 

[Pyan]

Joe Bauers - John Barlow! Now, there's a coincidence!
Well spotted, j d