Future of mankind

There is an eagerly awaited great debate is being held in the LSE’s auditorium today. Two of the world’s most distinguished experts, futuristic thinkers and recipients of the Nobel Peace Price on ‘human behavioral sciences’ are speaking their celebrated views on the future of mankind. They are Dr. Keith Denning, a Professor of Sociology and a proponent of a future utopian world and his opponent, Dr. James Lewinsky, a Professor of Anthropology, who predicts just the opposite. He thinks that doomsday awaits mankind.
Dr. Keith Denning is the first to speak:
“My Learned Colleague, Ladies and Gentleman”, Dr. Denning begins. “Let it be known that the 70s are the foundation on which the future world is built. And this future world is the world that mankind has been dreaming of, thirsty for and working at since the days when humans evolved into having the capacity to reason. The world of tomorrow will be nothing like the world we know today. Human conflicts of various kinds will be be around, but these are eclipsed by the greater promise of shared opportunities, knowledge, equities and possibilities that you cannot imagine. It’s almost an utopian world. Is it possible, you may ask? Of course it is!
Humans have evolved over millions of years. Although mankind’s history is written in bloody conflicts of various kinds; from the primate days of fighting for food in order keep ourselves alive to modern days of conquests, explorations, empire buildings, warfare and conflicts of ideology and religious beliefs, our the human spirit will eventually triumph. Thus, it is an irony to think that such contrasting behavours will change over time. But, ladies and gentlemen, humans are the only creatures in this planet who could think, reason and rationalize and capable of coming up with intelligent, practical and just solutions. In contract, our past history of conflicts is actually the foundation upon which to build on a better future world. People, like Dr. Lewinsky who preach doomsday, live in the dark, cloudy, abstract and mysterious world of doomsday prophecy backed by their inability to comprehend the goodness of human spirit and understand the inner self of the human soul. What further need for truth when we can find it in history itself? Isn’t it true that with each passing millennium, mankind has come out better than the one before him?
Look at the world around us today, ladies and gentlemen. The world is coming together in a way we have never thought possible. The days of territorial domination, slavery, explorations, empire buildings are over. There is increased tolerance among different races, gender equality and ideological differences. All this should augur well for the future world to live in. The evolution of humankind will continue into the new millennium and beyond and there will equilibrium and balance in the order of things. It is possible because of human’s capacity for love and our propensity for knowledge which is applied to solve problems . Love and knowledge are a very powerful combination. Never in the history of mankind has the world changed so much over the last three decades. And this is just the beginning of all things go come ladies and gentlemen. The coming great new world is the result of man’s discovery of the power of technology. Our knowledge of technology and it’s power is only at its primitive stage. Technological inventions will alter our way of life forever. Can you see the new technology which has rolled out in recent years? If colour television you are watching today is revolutionary, watch out for 3-dimension movies; your vinyl records are now replaced by the cassette tapes which could store sounds and data that you did not believe possible; the microwave oven can cook your food in minutes without the use of gas with the push of a button; calculators are giving way to computers, with its microprocessor chip, can process information in speed of seconds; cars can be driven with automatic gears; space explorations open up our imagination to the heavens and many more. There are many technological advancements you see out there today which you do not think possible. But, ladies and gentlemen, you know it’s all true. It’s all happening now. Gradually, technological inventions and innovations will spread to the whole wide world and mankind are very much better because of it. This is only the beginning ladies and gentlemen.
Today, we still witness poverty, knowledge divide, ideological differences, prejudice and discrimination in the world. But all these will change within the next few millenniums, as knowledge becomes more widespread, available and assessable. Of course, there will be conflicts between nations and peoples out of political, social, economical or religious differences. However, such conflicts would not be allowed to develop into conflict of a global magnitude as we have witnessed in the previous two world wars because there will be a central control mechanism, comprised of all nations of the world, big and small and there will be a system of check and balance to ensure a lasting world peace. When knowledge and information become more widespread and eventually channel throughout the whole world, conflicts will be kept at manageable magnitude. With knowledge, there shall be tolerance, compromises and understanding. There will be mutual respect and tolerance among races and there shall be true equality of gender. Women will be equal partners with men in every aspect of life. They will no longer be confined to just taking care of babies, doing house chores and letting husbands making all the important decisions. Instead, women will be equal partners in the world of high finance and politics. Women in the future world will become prime ministers, presidents, CEOs, astronauts, boxers, footballers, soldiers etc. Old customs and traditions will give way to modern practices and thinking brought about by wider and easier access of information. There will be a breakdown of classes. The future world will be a truly wonderful place to live in. Because for thousands of years, a few strong men could dictate the lives of millions, will now be replaced by great numbers of men and women who make joint decisions for the benefits of mankind in a global world.
Dr. James Lewinsky
“Ladies and gentleman”, it’s Dr. Lewinsky’s turn to speak. “My Learned Colleague, like all incorrigible romantics, tend to live in a little fairytale world of make-beliefs. Dr. Denning spoke at length on the history of human conflicts, from their pre-historic animalistic existence to modern day human war fares. And yet, without a strand of proof, he believes that mankind would shed his predatory killer instincts and that we would all end up in a fairytale land of brotherhood. Ladies and gentlemen, the evidence is there for all to see. Isn’t it true that each passing conflict was greater than the one before? The total number of people killed during World War 1 was estimated to be 16.5 million. But, the this was nothing compared to over 60 million people killed during World War II. Before that, and Dr. Denning is right, the history of mankind is written in blood. From the days of Alexander the Great to Julius Caesar to Genghis Khan to Napoleon, men inflicted untold sufferings on his fellow human beings by any unscrupulous means imaginable. They would not hesitate to overpower, capture, kill and annihilate their enemies. Not all the conquered are enemies of the conquerors. Many were innocent peoples living in poor underdeveloped countries who were conquered by stronger nations because these men wanted power, domination and wealth. There were also conflicts arising from religious differences whereby men of one particular faith waged wars against men of different faith, resulting in loss of millions of human lives. The Muslim Conquests between 632–732 AD of non-Arab peoples brought about the collapse of the Sassanid Empire and the Byzantine Empire, the Crusades were fought over a period of nearly 200 years, between 1095 and 1291AD which saw millions of people killed, the French Wars of Religion between 1562–1598AD fought between French Catholics and Protestants with disastrous consequences for both, and the Spanish Reconquista which spanned a period of nearly 800 years in the Middle Ages during which Christians and Muslims waged deadly battles against one another. When men finally got tired of killing each other in the name of religion, the victors from these conflicts began to colonize other countries and its peoples. This period of history from the 15th to the 20th century saw people from Europe established colonies on other continents. During this time, the European imperial masters held sovereignty over their colonies. The colonized peoples were looked upon as uncivilized, sub-humans and some were treated like commodities in the slave trade. The colonialists profited greatly from their colonies many of which were endowed with rich natural resources. They also imposed their way of life on the peoples, including religion and political philosophy. This is a period of unequal relationships between metropole and colony and between colonists and the indigenous population. Men may change their way of live, their lifestyle, their thinking and called themselves progressive and civilised. But, ladies and gentlemen, this is only a facade; men’s inherent instincts of greed, power and domination will always follow him and he will unleash all its darkness when the situation warrants it, as proven men’s history of bloody conflicts. Ironically, a world of inequality has its merits. Consider the world order in which nations have equal information, equal opportunities and equal powers. If conflicts were to ensue , they will be doubly severe and doubly devastating.
There is no denying the fact that the world we live today is enjoying peace, prosperity and progress in large scale never before witnessed in the history of mankind. Even Communism, the incompatible political foe of Capitalism appears to be waning. The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution of China is coming to an end. Communist East Germany is too weak to play any significant role in the world’s the political arena. The Korean and Vietnamese Wars have left these nations bankrupt. Only Russia is left with carrying the Communist torch in a significant but not dominant influence. But, while the West are looking inwards to improve the standards living of their populace, Russia is embarking an arms race against the United States. They have committed immense human resources and costs in this adventure. Their economy suffers and is already faltering. How long they can go on like this is anybody’s guess. But, do not be fooled that the world will be a peaceful and wonderful place to live just because of the decline of Communism. It will be replaced by other forms of conflicts from Capitalism and religion.
I cannot dispute the fact that technology advancements as mentioned by Dr. Denning have brought tremendous benefits to mankind. I also agree with him that this is the beginning of a new technology age which is going to bring impact on mankind on a scale that you cannot imagine possible; the information age will affect the way we conduct business, the manner we communicate, the lifestyles we lead. It will change the traditional values that we embraced so fervently today. But, ladies and gentlemen, don’t be blinded by the promises of these highly acclaimed inventions. They can also bring massive destructions to humankind. Imagine a robot which can think and behave like a human being, but with much greater powers. If millions of them are created to serve mankind so that humans can have a leisurely life, I cannot imagine the destruction they could cause, if monitoring procedures and control systems break down. But ladies and gentlemen, I do not think that the information age will cause human demise. It will a deadly virus. An incurable virus will be borne, caused by an unprecedented population explosion which has gone out of proportions and out of control. It does not take a mathematical genius to work it out, ladies and gentlemen. It takes a night of passion to create a human being in about nine months but this life could live to an average 70 years old. In short, the rate of births far outnumber rate deaths. World population will multiply rapidly, aided by affluence brought about by the information age. While developed nations have long implemented birth control ideas, for example, family planning and the pills, but the larger undeveloped world with countries in the African continent, South East Asia, the Middle East and South America, will produce population in an alarming rate. Many of these countries do not believe in birth controls out of religious beliefs. These countries need their population to develop their economies brought about by the promise of technology. They are driven a desire to outperform and to overtake the developed nations which they have been living under their shadows for so long. Weak men have inferiority complex. This deadly virus can mutate quickly into other non-identifiable forms and no medical doctors, health officials or scientists could identify them and thus there is no medical cure. The virus could go into the human’s nervous system in seconds. Victims would die within hours of their first symptoms through suffocation. The virus is non discriminative. It could strike in urban as well as rural areas and it would infect young and old, male and female. Well, I had mentioned that World War I claimed an estimated 16 million lives. But, the influenza epidemic that swept the world in 1918 killed an estimated 50 million people. One fifth of the world's population was attacked by this deadly virus. It had killed more people than any other illness in recorded history. The next virus will be much more deadly. Our only hope of preserving the human species is outer space. Space explorations have gained momentum over the past two decades. Unfortunately, we have still not found a planet in the outer space which can sustain human life.


“What do you think of their speeches, Ringano?”, Daniel asks. “I don’t know. They are talking about a world that I don’t belong to. I will be gone by then. All I am thinking is life on earth at this moment. I am thinking of my people back home who are fighting to keep our enemies from occupying out land. One day I shall return to fight alongside them.”, Ringano replies with a hard serious expression. “What about your people Daniel?”, he asks. “Well, we are quite a laid back and shy people. We pride ourselves of being hospital and generous. We are not outspoken people, we prefer to listen and learn”, Daniel replies. “Your people are not kind and hospital by nature Daniel”, Shashi interrupts. “It’s because you have been under the British rule for so long that you suffer from this inferiority complex”, Shashi continues. “Dr. Denning and Dr. Lewinsky are out of this world man. Their ideas are so far out, so compelling”, observes their classmate, Tom. “Yes, you are right, they ARE OUT of this world. People like them do not belong here; they can’t stand the ordinary. They have no time for fun, they have no time for women. They are wankers and they are more likely to wank themselves to sleep at night. Let’s get out of here. A beer will do us fine my friends”, they heard another classmate giving his unconventional comment.