This vision of the future is explicitly or implicitly endorsed by the vast majority of corporate leaders and economic theorists whose voices appear to be bolstered by the failure of centrally-planned economies. Fortress World - a grimmer future in which islands of prosperity are surrounded by oceans of poverty and despair, a future of conflict, violence, instability, social chaos, and growing environmental degradation. This scenario is a pessimistic vision based on the failure of market-led growth to redress social wrongs and prevent environmental disasters, at least in many parts of the world, so that on the belief that unconstrained markets will exacerbate these problems, large portions of humanity will be left out of the prosperity that markets bring to others. In this scenario these failures eventually destroy the natural resources and social framework on which markets and economic growth depend. Economic stagnation spreads as more resources are diverted to maintain security and stability.
Economic fragmentation occurs where conflict dominates or the social order breaks down.
In this scenario enclaves of wealth and prosperity coexist, in tension, with widening misery and growing desperation. Transformed World - a future in which fundamental social and political changes offer hope of fulfilling human aspirations. This is a visionary scenario in which fundamental social and political change, possibly even changed values and cultural norms, give rise to enlightened policies and voluntary actions that direct or supplement market forces. This scenario envisions a society in which power is more widely shared and in which new social coalitions work from the grass roots up to shape what institutions and governments do. Although markets become effective tools for economic progress, they do not substitute for deliberate social choices.