What will the World Look Like in 20 years? (EcoTrain QOTW)

This week's @ecotrain QOTW asked us to consider what the world will look like in 20 and 200 years, and I've decided to focus on just the former, shorter time span, as I've no idea what the world will look like 200 years from now!

I think in a word we're going to see more Polarisation..... between on the one the hand an expansion of the global capitalist system into more areas of everyday life, and a decreasing quality of life of for those people still stuck in said system, but also increasing numbers of people becoming free of said system, although the latter will still remain in an extreme minority.

The expansion of global capitalism into more countries and realms of life....

Market systems rule in about 20% of the global economy - Europe, America, much of Asia, and most people rely on an income from a job or running their own business to make money which they then use to buy the goods and services they need or want.

In wealthy countries and for the wealthy in poor and middle income countries, we are quite used to buying food, utilities, entertainment, health and education services with our income or taxes, but there are still plenty of people, the majority of the world's population who aren't really part of this system, and realise their needs through informal local economies.

My prediction is that in 20 years time there will be fewer people in poorer countries doing this, more will be sucked into the global market system through 'development'.

Meanwhile in wealthier countries capitalism will evolve so that more people will feel it necessary to spend more money just keeping up with normal consumption - especially as rapid money printing must lead to inflation.

But a lucky few will use their capital to escape

HOWEVER, and somewhat ironically, I also think there will be millions of people like myself that use their capital to escape monetary systems, buy land, establish off-grid lifestyles and learn to live partially outside of global capitalism, I say partially as it's quite difficult to fully live outside it (I can't make my own batteries for example!).

These people will likely see more freedom and more quality of life.

I'd like to think a larger proportion of the world's population will move into a post-captialist eco-peasant lifestyle, but I don't think we're anywhere near that happening on a global scale, I think MORE people are going to get sucked deeper into it than people getting out of it.

Of course the real challenge is to figure out how to measure all of this so I can track my prediction!

NB - I'm not expecting any MAJOR systemic shifts in the next 20 years.