Forget the current global issues and work for the future

5 min readJun 17, 2022

Viruses, climate change, wars, national debts, inequalities, corruption, terrorism, and poverty. Those are the leading global challenges of the 21st century. Some of them could last years, some others decades. But should we constantly be worried about them? Shouldn't we work actively to build a new future instead? This article will give you several practical activities you can work on.

Photo by Peerapon Chantharainthron on Unsplash

If we were an alien from another planet and read current newspapers, we would have thought that Earth is crumbling into pieces and that there is no future at all.

In a way, it is correct: a lot of global economic indicators are red[1], but it doesn’t mean the end of the world; very far from it. There are still great opportunities.

We should change our perspective and get those worries apart to act responsively for a better future. Not that those problems don’t exist, but that taking action could be the best behavior. In addition to that, fear is often an excellent feeling to preserve and care for, but it could be counterproductive when it becomes too important. Indeed, fear could paralyze and prevent people from doing good things. So, we can put aside fears, which are more than enough to forget them altogether -don’t worry- and start working on the future world. And this future world will highly depend on a new economic model.

Note: I use “will” but there is nothing 100% granted in those statements. It is used to simplify the meaning of sentences and give a sound vision of a possible future, considering current trends.

What will the future economy be?

The future economy is relatively easy to anticipate. We have to focus on where the primary investments are[2] and what the positive trends among the different markets are[3]. That’s how we identify four main economic fields that are growing fast:

Mass economy
Just in case economy
Luxury Economy
Virtual economy

Mass economy

Even though we are facing increasing shortage problems[4], mainly due to long supply chains, we are in a transition phase that would lead to more massive local productions. They could be either a set of small producers or big ones. Those producers will be internationally connected but mostly virtually: it will be possible to share proven practices and best product management by the surrounding available resources. The reduction of transportation means will be compensated by improved complexity management thanks to technology.

Freedom of movement will not be as easy as before, but the freedom of action will be more significant, with new capabilities of production, learning, and well-being. People will benefit from local goods, projects to innovate in unexpected fields, and time to improve themselves and organize their activities to reduce heavy transportation and hence carbon emissions.

In addition, the massive international supply will remain just for essential goods and products that couldn’t be produced elsewhere due to an apparent lack of resources in many places. They will be reinvented to last longer and reduce waste.

On the whole, the mass economy will focus on providing essential products and foods, either locally or internationally, but constantly reducing as much as possible greenhouse gas emissions in a sustainable way.

We can work on local and distant networking, local production, extensive distribution, transporting, Industry 4.0…

Just in case economy

In addition to the mass economy covering basic needs, there will be local initiatives to create innovative products but at a smaller production rate than before[5]. Devices and skills will be available to develop a part to repair something or to build a specific product for a particular purpose (ex: a 3D-printed personal prosthesis or a hand-crafted woolen sweater).

The just-in-case economy will answer specific requirements with a longer life cycle than the just-in-time economy but with less carbon footprint.

We can work on 3D printing, arts and crafts, carpentry, repair, sustainable production, risk management,…

Luxury Economy

One of the main ongoing positive trends is the boom in luxury sales[6]. Such an economy will expand in big cities, as they will continue to receive a wide variety of products, but at a lower scale than before. Even if it is a small part of the global population, it remains an essential part in terms of creativity, innovation, and technology.

We can work on jewelry, the luxury industry, hotel, catering,…

Virtual economy

Metaverse, Social media reputation, remote working, Pass systems, virtual transactions, etc.

Those are the new concepts from a market in significant evolution[7] during the last years and will continue to increase. Of course, virtual reality is often a subject of debate, but which new technology wasn’t? It will have good advantages and dangerous drawbacks, but the “real” reality will remain, fortunately.

Lockdowns and sanitary, ecologic, and security issues will encourage us to deal with more virtual worlds and means. This will also bring a lack of physical exercise that sports or outdoor activities will compensate for.

The virtual world is not only about superficial things. Many services and social network influencers are exciting, with concrete applications in everyday life.

We can work on Artificial Intelligence, innovation, remote services app development, virtual events organizer, cybersecurity, cryptocurrency, arts with Non-Fungible tokens, remote coaching or educator, video games, social media influencers, microtransaction systems, …

Conclusion

Most of us don’t like change and want to revive “good old times.” It’s human and completely understandable. But time changes; it’s the only constant. Perhaps we shouldn’t fight for things that we haven’t the power to change but instead use our abilities to work in new environments as if they were great adventures.