The New Megatrends
Hello, I hope that you’re doing great.
The world is changing quickly. Elon Musk is buying Twitter. The personal and the corporate are merging together in unprecedented ways.
It’s very hard to place our trust in any individual, particularly in a polarized time when 50% of Americans despise the same person that the other 50% venerates. In America today we are more comfortable with – and accustomed to – being failed by faceless bureaucracies than with trusting people.
What does our future hold? I interviewed trendspotter Marian Salzman on the podcast this week for her new book, “The New Megatrends: Seeing Clearly in the Age of Disruption.” Marian is someone who travels the world determining what’s coming.
Marian describes a time of chaos, division and uncertainty. “A critical reason we perceive a higher degree of chaos today is that we don’t feel up to the challenge of meeting current and future crises . . . this pervasive sense of pessimism is new . . . without the drive that comes from confidence.”
She goes on, “At a time when we all face genuine existential threats, one might think people would come together to find solutions; instead, we focus on identifying convenient targets for our blame and condemnation. We live in an age of rage – an era of us versus them, writ large.”
Among the major trends that Marian projects are accelerating technology, a competition between the U.S. and China, climate change, and ongoing effects of the pandemic. One response will be a desire to return to nature and seek out a secure environment.
“The chaos of now and next is turbocharged, posing constant challenge to our mental health and well-being . . . The new luxury is the simplest of all: breathing space. Time to find oneself and to restore order in a world overloaded by the clutter of materiality, uncertainty, and emotional burdens has become a premium. We all crave a secure space—physical and mental—in which to absorb the trials and tribulations of modern life.”
She believes people’s attention will turn to what works for them, first and foremost. “Self is at the center. With social and cultural institutions in flux, our focus has turned inward, emphasizing personal experiences, growth, and branding. People will endeavor to create or join new institutions and systems in which individuals 'like them' are front and center—both to safeguard their interests and devise and implement what they consider the best solutions.”
Marian also notes increasing inequality as a source of conflict and instability. “Society is egregiously unbalanced in most respects, none more so than wealth and access to critical resources. A select few have an abundance, while the rest have an excess only of anger and resentment at the inequities of their lot.” That's a tough atmosphere to manage.
I found Marian’s projections very incisive and perceptive. She sees our challenges clearly. As to our possibilities, she remains tentatively optimistic. “I always return to the first truth of our contemporary predicament: we may have stone-age minds, but we live in a space-age technology world. And that brings not just challenges but potential solutions.” In a time of institutional failure, change can happen more quickly than most believe possible.
She asks, “Which future will you champion – the Great Divide or the Great Reboot?” I know which one I’d prefer to fight for. I hope you will too.
To hear my conversation with Marian click here. You can also find my book talk from the Forward Tour here.
