From: jarubick@honors.uoregon.edu (:Jade Rubick)
Newsgroups: comp.society.futures
Subject: RE: FAR future programs
Keywords: world government
Date: 8 Nov 92 04:57:53 GMT
Article-I.D.: honors.jarubick.3
Organization: University of Oregon Honors College

This is in response to Patrick Chester's last point:

]From: wolfone@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Patrick Chester)
]Subject: Re: FAR future programs
]Date: 4 Nov 92 14:33:58 GMT
]In article <1992Oct30.085923.20896@ugle.unit.no> ta@itk.unit.no (Trond 
                                                       Andresen) writes: 
]Oh yes, I forgot to mention this. Trond, you do know that you are going
]to have to unite the world on this, do you? Otherwise this society you
]want is not going to work because those on the outside will want to have
]its riches for themselves. Hope you thought of that.

It seems to me that almost any successful projection into the future is 
going to have to unite the world.  I imagine some people will disagree :) 
but the world's problems are much larger than national boundries and I don't 
think we'll be able to solve even many of our current problems without 
some sort of effective international government.  (Perhaps some sort of 
commonwealth).  This in turn would require some changes in education etc..

An international language would be completely necessary.  Perhaps English is 
becoming that, we'll see.  If it does become English, I think English is 
going to have to go through some changes to make it more comprehensible.  
Don't tell me it can't be done, the Japanese have considerably altered their 
language (especially the written language) since WWII, and much of this was 
deliberate.  In one of my Japanese classes, we're reading old Japanese, so I 
know how much different it is.

Universal Compulsorary Education.  (is compulsorary spelled right?)

Perhaps the elimination of trade barrier between countries.  Would it be 
possible for the countries of the world to be like the members of the states 
of a nation?  And would this be possible without exploiting vast segments of 
the population?...

I would hope that each cultural group would be taught that their own culture 
is a valid and contributing part of a world civilization.  In saying this, I 
am reminded of how in some countries (the Soviet block comes to mind) the 
government would tell the people that, but the present violence between the 
various ethnic groups testifies to the falsity of that unity.  Racism and 
prejudice are two problems I think we will have to deal with for a great 
length of time.  I think it's important not to craft future world 
civilization from a purely Western perspective.

I wonder what you all think is going to eventually unify all of these 
contending factions all around the world.  Do you see things as getting 
better or worse?  In your picture of the world one hundred or two hundred 
years from now, do you still see dictatorships and oppressive governments?  
How about war?  Do you think that is something that we will overcome?  Or is 
it idealistic to think that we can progress out of that?

I'm inclined to think that there will be some very drastic changes made in 
the next fifty to one hundred years.  The rate of change in society has 
become so great in the last one hundred years that we hardly know what the 
world will be like in twenty years, much less one hundred.

Well, I'm curious to see what people's responses will be.  If you would like 
to e-mail me directly, that would be fine.  Also, I'll read anything that's 
posted.

I'm fairly new to this group, so if you've already discussed a lot of these 
issues, just blip over this.  :)


original posting:

=Trond Andresen  (ta@itk.unit.no) ======================================

response to posting:
 
Patrick Chester      wolfone@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu 

Me:

+----------------+-----------------------------+---------------------------+
| Jade Rubick    | jarubick@honors.uoregon.edu | Hello, my name is Oedipus |
| (503) 344-8619 | jrubick@oregon.uoregon.edu  | You killed my father.     |
| Asian Studies  | University of Oregon HC     | Prepare to die.           |
+----------------+-----------------------------+---------------------------+
Newsgroups: comp.society.futures