Where is America headed in the decades to come? I think about this question a lot, and it’s always on my mind as I read the news and ponder current events. It’s hard for me to see too far into the future, but I definitely observe trends and underlying forces today that will lead to some transformational outcomes. America is changing. The Chinese proverb says to “wish to live in interesting times,” but I worry things may be too interesting for my taste!

I think about several aspects of this question, and decided it might be useful to address them each separately. There are a number of key current trends that create the context for the next decade. Based on these trends I have some specific predictions about the direction the country will take in the coming years unless we make changes. And there are several unexpected factors that might be very significant and take our country in different directions. In this series of articles I’m not proposing solutions, I’m just thinking about what I see and what I predict might happen if we don’t make changes. In some of my other articles I’ll address the structure of our society, the nature of modern capitalism, and what we should do to help reach a better outcome. But I think an important starting point is to understand where we are now and where we might end up if we don’t change course. So, come with me and take a look into my crystal ball . . .