Heading Into the Year 2020

As the world hurls to 2020, what are the significant impact matters that can churn the economy, cause social grief and affect key things in our life that we may have taken for granted so far?
History has always been an account of tensions and conflict between conservatives and progressives, between the haves and have nots and between those with superior technology and those without.
Wars have been fought in the name of religion, control of financial interests, ideological beliefs and the alliance of manipulative politics.
The greater movement of populations, the increased power of captured analytical information, more powerful military means and a shift in world power patterns have however changed the strategic game.
Yet our world is still divided into nations, a system perhaps outdated by commercial expansion, technology dominance and heightened means of mobility.
Cultural imperatives continue to complicate the progress of mankind to cooperate on a holistic platform instead of on the usual competitive tribal basis. Such cultural factors range across strongly held views on wealth dominance, political structures, racial silos and social order.
Some hotspots arise from historical dilemmas. Others are rooted in rising or changed expectations. Yet some issues arise because of significant wealth redistributions and therefore real shifts of power held. The hold of Western dominance has changed - but at the same time deep historical conflicts have not been resolved.
The world has not weaned off its insatiable appetite for petroleum.
Nations may not be fully prepared for the consequences of over utilising other Earthly resources in the quest for ever increasing economic and population growth. Decimation of non-human species continues relentlessly with deforestation, spread of falsity in communication and misuse of technology.
My list of suggested most risky features for the world include:
1. The inability to optimally manage aging societies in places like Europe, Japan, China, Australia, the USA and
Singapore.
2. The continuing denial and lack of sufficient action by the powers that be of mankind's significant negative impact on Mothership Earth.
3. The misuse of evolving new techology for greater control of and enhancing greater addiction by the masses.
4. Religious, cultural and tribal conflicts that continue to create havoc, economic slowdowns and lower quality of life for the people and lands inflicted by such malaise.
4. The pain of adjustments and changes to the current pattern of political systems and control.
5. The multiracial and diverse populations of several countries can pose both opportunity or conflict.
6. Nations that do not transform their economies in a brave new world are going to be left behind.
7. Conflicts can now be conducted between nations on many fronts. They can be far from just battling warships, aircraft and landed troops.
8. After a period of liberalisation, several nations increasingly begin to look inward for strengthened political, economic and cultural resilience.
Brexit, continuing corruption, political bullying, rising nationalism, carbon footprints left by increased air travel, racism, increased sea levels, rising impersonalisation, tariff wars, engineered elections and negative air pollution are just examples of the symptoms.
What is the world collectively doing about the causes of its major problems? What can you, as an individual, help to mitigate them?
#yongkevthoughts