Future of Humanity: Near Term Big Picture

 

Recently I posted a piece on humanity’s near term big picture, which to be honest is a lot to take in. In order to get collective humanity to where we are going long term, some pretty awful things have to happen to get us there, things that are already happening (and will get worse, sorry).

 

This is because humanity’s structures of how we interrelate must collapse so that we can build new ones that align with how humanity will interrelate in the future. 

 

By future, we’re talking not that far out—this is, of course, a massive undertaking  to completely shift focus from an overall materialistic, me-driven world to a collectivistic, we-driven world. But it’s only 50-100 years to settle in to our new way of being, and because it’s a process, there are already signs lighting the way forward and these signs will increase as time goes on. So our children and grandchildren will definitely experience some rewards of this shift.

 

Where is humanity headed? A collectivistic, we-driven world means that every person is valued as they are. Resources are generously shared. No more billionaires hoarding wealth, no more people in poverty because there isn’t enough left over for them. Racism, ageism, misogyny, patriarchy, colonialism, capitalism dissipate and become the exception, not the rule.

 

Having approximately half today’s world population, as I explained in my recent piece about the near term big picture, helps with this of course, but the shift is much more than that. 

 

It’s a shift in focus, a shift in mindset. A shift to appreciate everyone else simply because they are themselves, not because they match some societal idea of who is valuable (currently this means young, beautiful, wealthy) and who is not. People won’t be ascribed intelligence or ”betterness” because of their wealth or beauty, but because of the inner qualities they possess: generosity of spirit, openheartedness, understanding, acceptance.

 

Imagine a world where you are appreciated for who you are and the unique gifts you bring to your community and the world. Gifts like kindness, creativity, quirkiness, intuition. Other gifts such as leadership will still be valued, but instead of a top-down power structure it will be a bottom-up structure, making servant leadership such as currently displayed by NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani the norm rather than the exception.

 

Imagine a world in which everyone has enough, because resources are generously shared, and there is no longer a grinding day-to-day need to produce just in order to survive. Instead, your work brings you inner satisfaction because you know it is contributing to the well-being of others in your unique way. Look to current artists of all types, the ones who create simply for the joy of creating (not the ones caught in the machinery of public adulation and capitalism), for what this could feel like.

 

Imagine a world in which understanding between humans is enhanced, because people have better access to their intuitive and empathetic abilities. Misunderstandings still occur, of course, but most everyone has better access to tools by which to work through them. War and power struggles are no longer the answer. Understanding and compassion are.

 

Imagine a world in which smart people work together to solve big problems. We’ve already had that, of course, but its scope has been severely limited by political manipulations. Those manipulations won’t exist, or will to a much lesser and weaker extent, so big world problems (clean air, healthy food, education, public health etc) will be solved easily and creatively. 

 

And imagine a world in which people feel free to express themselves as the people they really are, unencumbered by social structures such as  internalized patriarchy, misogyny, and racism. Because acceptance is the norm, expression is freed. Not in a ”I have my 1st Amendment rights so I can say anything I want even if it hurts you” way, but in an open-hearted, giving-of-their-essence way.

 

There are many, many more ways in which this shift will affect humanity, but these are some examples that should help you imagine the world that is coming, that humanity is co-creating. In so doing, you help bring it to bear. Thank you for your contribution to our collective future.