Transition to the Future - Essay Example

Question 2 Transition to the Future Possible worlds of the future simply are a result of the changing dynamics of the future. When institutions change in one way or the other, new opportunities are created and this may be leads to sides of life in the future. The changing nature of various institutions put in place to oversee various sectors of the economy leads to development of newer opportunities which may either be dangerous or productive when it comes to reorganizing social lives of citizens in an economy. A Pessimistic View of the Future According to Rubin (1996), An increase in the use of technological advancements by multinationals leads to power monopoly because they disintegrate the grip the government has on them leading to fewer accountability and inequality created due to existence of social classes in the society. Technological advancements leads to a future where individuals for example can not keep up or start families because of the demanding nature of skills required in operating and running various machineries and the work hours. This would create work insecurity as every worker would struggle to retain his work amidst turbulent financial times. The male gender would be chauvinistic over women counter parts as they would be competing for the fewer job opportunities created as a result of increased technological advancements. The results of this is that social virtues that govern the society will be ignored as there will be instability, family disarray and lack of government as individuals themselves would want to be the government. An Optimistic View of the Future According to Rubin (1996), This future consists of a world where technological advancements, personnel growth and economic development collaborate with one another to makes things normal. Communication channels would be used to create harmony and integration among citizens in the world. Economic development of third world countries will be a collaborative effort of the three classes of countries in the world which are first class, second class and third world countries by aiding or promoting lagging areas like education sector, health sector and basic sectors which makes life easier and simple for citizens in every country. Democratic organizations would be formed to unite different countries in the world by hearing ideas, worries and statements of each country in the world before making decision to integrate change for the benefit of the lagging areas in the economy. Moreover, policies which are supportive for the growth of the family may be formulated to assure security of parents and the family elements hence promoting social values in countries across the world. Lastly, the workplace scenario will be revolutionized as workers will be able to work in a worker-friendly environment hence assisting governments to sponsor and set-up programs which will benefit the economy and the society. An example is that budgets allocated to military sectors by countries will be reduced tremendously and channeled to other development sectors as the world will be a global village meaning no wars or conflicts among countries. My Opinion In my opinion, an optimistic view of the future to me is more plausible future because it promotes the essence of life and society. I can not imagine a society where families are useless and do not make sense as that will lead the humankind to extinction in one way or the other. Women who would be underemployed or not employed at all because of the fewer opportunities available would loose morality and make such issues like abortion to be the order of the day. This will be because they will lack sources or means to look after their babies as those who father these children will not be ready to take up responsibilities since they will be engrossed to their work. Secondly, Prostitution will be the order of the day as women will turn to selling their flesh to find sources of living like shelter, food and clothes as they will notable top afford them due to lack of money. On the other hand, an optimistic view of the future will encourage the existence of a society and support moral values like responsibilities and existence of a family. Life will be bearable as human beings will work understandable hours and not overwork themselves since machine s and technology in place will be responsible for completing remaining or extra task. Secondly, the improved communication technology would promote cohesion and current emerging issues like wars; underemployment would be reduced as the world would have turn into a global village. Question 3 “The Long Emergency" by James Howard Kunstler The Long Emergency/Downsizing America The long term emergency by James Howard Kunstler refers to the climate change and other shocks to different systems of the government with an implication of how individuals will survive or live in the future days to come. Die Offs Vs. Cornucopian Die offs is considered as a view which is extremely severe as it centers on the ideology that the carrying capacity of the planet has already exceeded and hence that the world has entered into a phase of human extension. On the contrary, Cornucopian are individuals’ harboring beliefs over the future of energy that oil as a commodity is not fossilized, liquefied substance, but rather they harbor beliefs that oil is a naturally occurring substance hence it is there for eternity and can not deplete (Kunstler 77). Dieback/ Die Off They are a group of individuals who have a belief that the planet as it is short of resources and the capacity of minerals which are contained in the earth is scarce hence any further use of this resources will bring an extinction of human life. In other terms they advocate for adequate use of resources or propose other strategies of energy than using energy resources as they believe that the resources which are there can not be enough for the future generations to come. Carrying Capacity of Planet It means that the earth has a limited amount of resources and that an overuse of resources is not accommodative to the amount of resources nature has availed for use in a particular moment or time. An example is that when people use too much oil, there will not be enough oil for the coming generations to use as the current oil reservoir will have been depleted. Malthus/ Essay on Population/ Checks The Malthus/ essay on population/checks points that when the population of human beings are not constrained, it will expand and increase in number thus in the process affecting various aspects of resources and people. Moreover, it states that the checks are placed to expand into a magnitude which will overwhelm resources. The actual Malthus essays points out that a boundary has been set for human beings and when reached changes for further accommodation can not permitted by nature. Bubble of Plenitude This refers to an artificial period where human population is constricted and growing exponentially with the availability of cheap oil which has gone contrary to Malthus essay that human population if not monitored will grow leading to an overuse of resources. In addition, the bubble of plentitude ideology points out that it is only individuals who are maniacs who considered growth of a population a hyper growth problem. Suburbia/ Sprawl This refers to the over development of different sectors like mining sectors and many others. The ideology behind it is that the over use of resources might one day lead the world the ages of agrarian community where only small scale practices were practiced by individuals who existed at the time. Thesis of “The Long Emergency" by James Howard Kunstler The thesis statement behind the book is that there is doomsday scenario caused by society wasteful practices and extravagant use of resources like the consumption of oil and other fossil fuels. In reading the book, numerous points on the consumption of resources like raising points like lack of emergence of a technology which will save mankind from their extravagant use of resources. Works Cited Kunstler, James. The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of Oil, Climate Change, and Other Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Cent. New York City: Grove, 2007. Print. Rubin, Beth A. Shifts in the Social Contract: Understanding Change in American Society. London [u.a.: Pine Forge Press, 1996. Print. Read More