Britain, 50 years from now...

[max_tranmere]

What do people think it will be like? Do you think most of the south-east will have disappeared under concrete? Would the centre of cities have stopped being places to work as everyone by then will work from home, or in a cafe, or park - as online communications will be the way to do your job to an even greater extent than now, you will never need to see any of your work colleagues again, you just carry this little device around, and the concept of 'the office' will have long ceased to be?

With a population totalling something like 75 million by then what will the nation be like? I heard someone say recently that we will probably have the kind of internal problems that Pakistan currently has. Will morgues be as common, and as easily accessible, as A&E departments currently are, in British cities due to the regular 'ethnic violence' that will be happening? Will there be seperate homelands for certain peoples within Britain by then? Will English be spoken ANYWHERE in Britain 50 years from now? It is already a minority language in Britain's major cities and is spoken less and less as each year passes.

Will the ozone layer have completely gone by then and the seas rise to such an extent that areas of our counties that butt up against the seas will have disappeared? Will people have got so fed up with the political system we have that there may be a revolution within 50 years and we will end up with a new way of doing things? What do people think the country will be like, 50 years from now?

[andy at handiwork]

As life expectancy, in this country at least, increases, there will be a lot of readers of this post still alive in 50 years time. Best not disturb them too much with apocaliptic prognostications.

[Peter]

It'll be a hardline Islamist state.

[andy at handiwork]

Dont be silly.

[IdolLiesDroog2]

As a man in his 20s...if any of that comes true I will genuinely be unapologetically saying..."in my day....."

[steve56]

Tend to agree im in Westminster and heard a rumour arabs will buy us all out.Peter wrote:

> It'll be a hardline Islamist state.

[andy at handiwork]

steve56 wrote:

> Tend to agree im in Westminster and heard a rumour arabs will
> buy us all out.

And of course rumours heard in Westminster are always correct.

[beutelwolf]

I have other worries about Britain's (and the world's) future.

1. Food shortages. I think the world population has reached levels already where feeding them has become unsustainable. In 50 years time, starvation will be back as the main method of worldwide population growth control. And food resources will be fought for in wars.
(I don't claim this to be a political failure. This inevitably happens eventually in some form or another to all animals at the top of a food chain, and we are not exempt.)

2. Collapse of the economic system. What we call recession right now. We kind of expect to bounce back from it, and everything will be hunkydory again. But will it? The problem is that Britain has an enormous trade deficit, it exports very little. The state also has enormous debts. There is a high risk that that could lead to hyper-inflation Zimbabwean style, and a complete loss of trust on the side of foreign creditors. As a result, Britain would have to turn back to ancient self-sufficient ways - which would be very very painful indeed. The same could happen to the United States, for similar reasons, in which case the old economic system would go belly-up.

3. The problem with the economic collapse is that it could also lead to a collapse of the political and administrative system. Of a magnitude similar to the collapse Britain faced after the collapse of the Roman empire, with Britain turning into the kind of state Somalia is right now.

[crofter]

Tis true once the Oil runs dry for the Arabs the majority of the rich bastards will be over here and running the country ... mark my words on that if you want fellow housemates.