Do you think this book predicts the future?

[genius1]

it may be true that America may lose its world power owing to its present pattern of governance but if they can foresee these issues and make plans solve them, then they still remain the world's most powerful country.

[Bianka Walter]

a possible scenario that shows man as merely existing instead of living.

This is so true! That is also something that struck me in the book. As 'great' as the new world is with its no-crime-no-pollution-no-anything-bad climate, are the people really thriving, or are they just being?
I know this sounds weird, but I wonder if people need a bit of drama in order to thrive? There would be nothing to make an individual excel otherwise.
Maybe I'm reading too far into it.

[Bianka Walter]

While I don't believe the USA will fall like it does in the book, I do see consumerism overtaking our society. Everywhere you go on the internet and other places you find ads from businesses wanting to buy their products.

I also think it would take a lot for the government to mess up that badly. But consumerism is definitely something that is growing rapidly. Big corporations having control over a lot of the country is not an unbelievable future.

[MiziS_1305]

Intolerance prevailing in most of the countries now a days is definitely calling for a rule different from the ones existing today; one that does not discriminate. And I personally have this view that corporate world does not discriminate between its consumers. It is concerned only about flourishing wide.

[Nana Amma]

I don't think this can predict the future.we don't know what the future hold and we must always be positive minded and we shouldn't focus on what the book is saying.We are in a new century

[Waragu Samuel]

The future of America as a super power is uncertain as we have already started to witness.To say the least, this book is fore seeing some realities in the days and years to come.

[Julehart1]

I think it's possible that the book is predicting the future, but it's not likely. We don't know what the future holds. America does have enemies, but I don't think it gets as bad as the book. I hope not.

[Sushan Ekanayake]

I think it is too soon to tell whether the world which is shown in the book is possible or not. But, America loosing its ability to rule the world, either directly or indirectly, is the wish of many outsiders

[Laura Ungureanu]

I really hope it doesn't predict the future. The US certainly can't stay on top forever, it has to mess things up at some point. But I don't think the other things that happen after US falls are accurately depicted. We have a way to imagine things will be worse or better, depending on the person. But things don't change that drastically in such a short time. Think about how long it took humans to do anything else.

[Lil Reads]

I could absolutely see oligarchy based governments becoming more prevalent in the future.

It does seem like a major shift would have to occur socially and politically for the future Gariffo writes about to come true, but those can happen very rapidly. Consider the Internet - in the 1990s, it was mainly used by academics and several books or articles published then did not predict the rapid growth of the Internet or how it is used for entertainment today.

[Catevanne22]

According to what the Bible says, as it has been interpreted by those who know Biblical prophecy, all the western nations
will be brought down because they have turned away from God. Maybe the current state of affairs in America, as well as other nations, can be traced back to this turning away from God?

[Raya raymond]

I think it could be the future if the us continues to have the same traits as the world in this book.

[ArriettyClock]

This is a definite possibility. The political climate in the U.S. right now is really damaging the relationships with other countries, and there does not seem to be an emphasis on advances. I would not be surprised if the U.S. was not a world leader in 10 years, let alone 40.

I completely agree. Politics depends on relationships with other countries, their citizens relationships with one another and their trade. USA has already damaged some of their economical developments by their steel tax on imports/exports, causing companies like Harley Davidson to move their main manufacturing to Europe.

[Fu Zaila]

I have not read the book, but the premise of a world ruled by a dystopian oligarchy has been done before in the book Cloud Atlas (2004) by David Mitchell, and the movie Network (1976) to name just two.

From the movie Network ...

Arthur Jensen: "You have meddled with the primal forces of nature, Mr. Beale, and I won't have it! Is that clear? You think you've merely stopped a business deal. That is not the case! The Arabs have taken billions of dollars out of this country, and now they must put it back! It is ebb and flow, tidal gravity! It is ecological balance! You are an old man who thinks in terms of nations and peoples. There are no nations. There are no peoples. There are no Russians. There are no Arabs. There are no third worlds. There is no West. There is only one holistic system of systems, one vast and immane, interwoven, interacting, multivariate, multinational dominion of dollars. Petro-dollars, electro-dollars, multi-dollars, reichmarks, rins, rubles, pounds, and shekels. It is the international system of currency which determines the totality of life on this planet. That is the natural order of things today. That is the atomic and subatomic and galactic structure of things today! And YOU have meddled with the primal forces of nature, and YOU... WILL... ATONE! Am I getting through to you, Mr. Beale? You get up on your little twenty-one inch screen and howl about America and democracy. There is no America. There is no democracy. There is only IBM, and ITT, and AT&T, and DuPont, Dow, Union Carbide, and Exxon. Those are the nations of the world today. What do you think the Russians talk about in their councils of state, Karl Marx? They get out their linear programming charts, statistical decision theories, minimax solutions, and compute the price-cost probabilities of their transactions and investments, just like we do. We no longer live in a world of nations and ideologies, Mr. Beale. The world is a college of corporations, inexorably determined by the immutable bylaws of business. The world is a business, Mr. Beale. It has been since man crawled out of the slime. And our children will live, Mr. Beale, to see that... perfect world... in which there's no war or famine, oppression or brutality. One vast and ecumenical holding company, for whom all men will work to serve a common profit, in which all men will hold a share of stock. All necessities provided, all anxieties tranquilized, all boredom amused. And I have chosen you, Mr. Beale, to preach this evangel."

Howard Beale: "Why me?"

Arthur Jensen: "Because you're on television, dummy. Sixty million people watch you every night of the week, Monday through Friday."

Howard Beale: "I have seen the face of God."

Arthur Jensen: "You just might be right, Mr. Beale."

I haven't watched either of them, but thank you for sharing this conversation! It's extremely impactful, and something everybody needs to read.

[Fu Zaila]

I don’t believe the United States will ever lose power. It’s the most powerful country and I think will stay that way.

I do not think it predicts the future and I certainly hope not.

I do believe that power doesn't stay constantly within grasp, but let's hope not!