The Next 100 Years

Friedman argues that geopolitics constrains our choices, that the future will and even must follow a certain set of guidelines. In the other camp, Yogi Berra argues that “It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future”. I'm with Berra.

Friedman's projection is insightful and illuminating. He has obviously given much thought to the matter, and many of his arguments ring true. What he fails to consider is chaos: the disproportional effect of chance events or individuals in world events. He also doesn't seem aware that he's viewing the future with today-tinted (or even yesterday-tinted) glasses. His future consists of things we can imagine today, but futures rarely work that way.