Making of the Modern World
Just took the final of a class I really enjoyed, “The Making of the Modern World”. Even though I missed almost all the lectures (oversleeping at 9am), I really enjoyed the readings and learning about the progress of humanity from the Feudal ages to the modern world we know now.
I enjoy reading history for it illustrates the broad trends of humankind; from this we are better able to understand where we are, and where we will be heading in the future. Often at times we look at the world and wonder how far more we can progress; it seems that the world is almost perfect as it is and there cannot be advances beyond. The study of history proves us all wrong; the world 500 years from now will be so different that it will be scarce recognizable to us.
It is amazing how mankind freed themselves from the bonds of feudalism to embrace democracy and a basic respect for human rights. More so the technological revolution had allowed for greater prosperity. The rise of western dominance has been so for the past 400 years, a relatively recent and brief period in the scheme of mankind. Even then we are beginning to witness its end; the rise of China and other great powers, the decline of Europe, the new decline of America, the new “sleeping giant” of Russia- all of this will lead to a vastly different world that my grandchildren will witness.
The next age of exploration: Space
I believe the frontiers lie in areas we have yet to see. Space, ludicrous as it seems (and old as it seems), seems primed for the next “Age of Exploration”. Earth will witness a switch from a hydrocarbon fuelled economy to a renewable energy economy, while computers will become even more integrated into everyday life. Philosophically we will witness a deep divide between western Liberal democracies, quasi-democracies (Russia, China), and the Islamic republics. How we negotiate that will be an interesting task, and the problem for all of us to solve.
