As we stand at the threshold of the new millennium, the future seems both exhilarating and terrifying. Does it hold great promise of freedom and opportunity or the threat of conflict and inequality? In the tradition of such influential and defining books as Future Shock and Megatrends, Peter Schwartz, Peter Leyden, and Joel Hyatt argue in The Long Boom that we are, in fact, on the verge of a global economic expansion on a scale never before experienced--and that the choices we make as informed individuals, institutions, communities, and nations today will determine whether that vision is realized. Analyzing economic, political, technological and socio-cultural trends that began to converge in the early 1980s, the authors offer a compelling--and highly plausible--vision of how the next twenty years will unfold. By 2020, we can expect to experience tremendous advances in now-emerging technologies; widespread adoption of alternative energy sources; increased productivity; and, perhaps most important, the creation of a truly global economy. Going beyond a description of this scenario, the authors identify potential bumps in the road and urge educators, policy makers, business leaders, social activists, and individuals in all types of organizations to participate in the "politics of the long boom," the realm where people come together to pool resources and solve common problems. Grand in scope but intensely personal in scale, The Long Boom shows us all how to take an active role in creating a vibrant, diverse, constantly learning, and sustainable global society.
Thanks to various technological, fiscal and political revolutions that reshaped our world over the past two decades, some observers believe the new millennium will offer opportunities for economic expansion that rival any previously recorded.
The Long Boom is a fascinating attempt to pin down this potential upsurge by combining a shrewd examination of where we've been headed for the last 20 years with a plausible forecast of where, with a bit of good fortune and tenacity, we might be going during the next 20. Moreover, its unique mixture of germane facts and figures with supportable projections and original storytelling techniques--most notably a letter to friends sent once a decade by a fictional observer born in 1960--make it as readable as it is provocative.
Originating as an article in Wired magazine, the optimistic scenario envisioned by authors Peter Schwartz (chairman of a think tank/consulting firm), Peter Leyden (a technology, economics and political journalist) and Joel Hyatt (a Stanford entrepreneurship professor who co-founded the legal services firm bearing his name) integrates existing and potential technological advancements, financial developments, political upheavals and social movements. Among its predictions are formulation of a "glass pipeline" that seamlessly tracks manufacturing and production processes, creation of a volunteer Global Corps to aid developing nations, the dawning of a true Space Age, and birth of a unified worldwide society with "well-off people who share certain values that are transcending borders." The account is highly recommended for everyone concerned with, yet hopeful about, the future. --Howard Rothman, Amazon.com
