1) The United States will be embroiled in economic warfare with the EU, the oil-producing countries and with China, as: the US dollar declines against the Euro and other currencies; as more jobs are exported from the US through increased outsourcing and offshoring; as the US domestic economy declines steeply (in terms of falling employment, decreasing real personal income, increasing price levels, increasing imports, decreasing imports, forced consolidations of numerous financial institutions, increasing outbound investment by US enterprises and funds in foreign economies) and as China becomes an increasingly powerful exporter and consumer. This trend will continue, without reversal, for more than ten years, and US dollars (as well as many US dollar-based investments) will lose tremendous value. The threat of a "cold war" with China, and perhaps even Russia will replace terrorism as the principal national security concern.
2) The US and other G-8 Nations will move in the direction of a cashless society as the counterfeiting of currency becomes increasingly easy due to improved computer scanning technologies.
3) Despite existing fears about identity theft, Internet-based commerce will boom as fuel prices continue to rise (or remain uncertain), consumers become more computer-oriented and educated in facilitating transactions online, and computer security technology is significantly improved.
4) Investments in all aspects of alternatives to fossil fuels will do increasingly well, especially those involving clean nuclear power. Holdings in thorium properties and thorium mining rights will dramatically increase in value internationally, as thorium becomes acknowledged as one of the safest and "cleanest" nuclear fuel sources. Hybrid automobiles will increase in popularity and proliferation, and electricity will be revisited as a transportation power source.
5) Religious fundamentalism, principally Christian, will find an increasing number of adherents in the G-8 Nations, and particularly in the US. There will be a growing preoccupation with The Book Of Revelations, and the notion of The Apocalypse. Religion will become an increasingly profitable enterprise worldwide.
6) Astrology, mysticism and spiritualism, as well as various occult practices, ideas and beliefs will become increasingly accepted, popular and integrated into mainstream G-8 culture. There will be a growing interest in the study of ancient societies, primitive religions, magic and alchemy.
7) A steeply greater percentage of all social and business interaction will be conducted between persons via web-based teleconferencing and communications than during the past five years. The facilitating technology will continue to improve and decrease in actual cost. In-person meetings will cease to be the norm for smaller, entrepreneurial businesses and many international enterprises. By 2012, most educational programs and business meetings will be conducted in cyberspace.
In closing, I will state that the future cannot be predicted so much as reasonably anticipated through a combination of three evaluative elements:
- THE STUDY OF TECHNOLOGY;
- THE STUDY OF HISTORY;
- THE STUDY OF PSYCHOLOGY.
Thank you for being here with me. Good joss!
Faithfully,
Douglas Castle
p.s. The photograph above was taken at Winter Solstice. There is relevance here if you look for it purposefully.
