Is This What The World Will Look Like In 30 Years

I’m no prophet, but I have thought for a long time that China and India are going to be even more prominent on the world stage than they are now.

I don’t mean to sound pretentious in making that statement, better qualified observers than me are probably saying the same thing!

Both nations are undergoing industrial and technological change at an unheard of rate, both are nuclear powers, and both have massive populations!

Industrialisation was one of the main factors in Great Britain’s growth as a world power, as well as that of the United States!

With more manufacturing operations than ever moving from western nations to countries such as China, India and Indonesia to take advantage of cheaper labor rates, the trend seems set to continue!

Add to this the fact that the US dollar continues to slide against other currencies, one wonders where to now for the West?

I picked up this report today in the Shanghai Daily:

India expects to expand its trade partnership with China in areas such as software and information technology, pharmaceuticals, steel and certain categories of automobiles, Prakash Gupta, the consul of Consulate General of India, said yesterday.

He also said if India and China continue to maintain their growth for the next three decades, then not only will both nations be among the world’s biggest economies, but also that their bilateral economic and commercial relationship will become the most important one in global terms. More….

I’d love to see a prosperous China and India – along with prosperous African and South American economies as well.

Some of the problems I see though are the continuing lack of freedom and human rights in China, instability on the Indian Subcontinent with contrasting extremes of wealth and poverty, and a nuclear armed Pakistan that looks increasingly unstable.

Along with these concerns, pollution, plus the health and safety of employees don’t seem to be high on the priorities of these nations.

As I’ve noted, industrialisation was part of what made the western nations rich in the first place, and while the people of India, China and other nations are quite entitled to the same standards of living as those in western nations, countries such as the US, Britain and others can’t expect to maintain their wealth by continuing to export their jobs!

Nor can we continue down the road of easy credit and a devil may care form of consumerism that is going to be paid for, for generations to come…

Maybe it’s time for the West to come up with a system whereby these countries can attain wealth, and the standards enjoyed by their own people, without selling the farm from under their own people! Or is it too late for that?

Disclaimer: This post is based on my own reading of history and current events. I do not claim to be an expert in this field, and this article should not be taken as a detailed analysis of the situation!