«Once upon a time… at the end of the 20th century, there was a world in which armed conflicts were largely not religiously motivated, and in which economic growth rates in most countries were more than acceptable. The booming economic sectors: property, business, the stock market… Of course, there was a Third World grappling with serious poverty and health issues, but the so-called First and even Second Worlds were enjoying a period of significant global prosperity. A spectacular future lay in store for some emerging nations, which were awakening to a global market economy that was set to revolutionise the lives of billions of people. Far behind them, almost forgotten, lay the energy crisis of the 1970s and the Iron Curtain with its Checkpoint Charlie or the Cold War between blocs, with a finger constantly poised over the nuclear button. But even having left this turbulent past behind them, the inhabitants of that planet were worried and debated ways to find impossible solutions to what, from their perspective, seemed like major global problems.
Curiously, the people of that time were unaware of just how exceptional the general standard of living in their world was during those years. They remained worried and complained about the possibility that the Mir space station might fall on their heads, reduced to scrap metal because of the Russian economic crisis; they were concerned about the slight slowdown in the global economy compared with previous years.
Meanwhile, there was discussion as to whether taxation might be a more effective tool than monetary policy alone for controlling the foreseeable excesses in global consumer demand. The high volatility of financial flows from the richest countries to emerging economies was also a topic of discussion. If, moreover, these flows were driven by speculative currency trading, the volatility of the global economy could be multiplied. And that did not sit well with economic analysts at the time. Developing countries were urged to introduce measures to control the risks that voracious financial institutions were ignoring in exchange for the investment frenzy these flows generated. emerging markets.No one ever thought that the danger might come from financial investment flows between first-world countries, let alone from the strongest currencies: US$, GBP and the Deutsche Mark.
It was a world whose biggest problem was engaging in international debate about what the main issues facing the global economy were. A macroeconomic Tower of Babel sailing full steam ahead across the globe, semi-aware of its own sweet, old familiar chaos, yet oblivious to its course. What could possibly have been worse than the economic problems of that time?»
«…And the years went by – let’s say a decade. The landscape of that world had changed completely. By comparison, the present was bleak. Islamic fundamentalism was sowing terror and war in many countries. The West (including Israel and the Vatican) was clumsily attempting to minimise its effects. In many cities, hundreds of thousands of cameras were installed to monitor the
There was talk of a recession as people re-read (rather than recalled) the one endured 80 years ago. But it was difficult to extrapolate what had happened back then to a world that had been in constant flux for almost a century – the most turbulent period in history. Would the current situation cope better or worse with a recession like that one? Moreover, why was the predicted recession not even supposed to be anything like the one of 80 years ago?»
A new world order (still in disarray) had been established, and the majority of the population were not even aware of the new situation. »How could so much have changed in such a short space of time?’”
SHOW YOUR BOARDING PASS!… SHOW YOUR BOARDING PASS!…
My reading was abruptly interrupted. I thought that, given what happened to them in the following decade, the problems faced by that civilisation at the end of the 20th century were nothing but a load of rubbish (apologies to anyone who might take offence). Well, after this first chapter, I thought that perhaps this second-rate sci-fi novel I’d bought for 9.99 $ at the airport duty-free kiosk might entertain me enough. I had to kill time whilst waiting at the gates of the boarding bridges in whichever terminal I was in over the next three days.
Back to reality: I now had to put the booklet away in my briefcase because I was approaching the security checkpoint. I looked over the heads of the crowd and took in the scene to which, surprisingly, we all seemed to have grown accustomed: several rows of barefoot people holding up their trousers, which had no belts. In silence. Resigned. Surrounded by barbed wire converted into modern stainless-steel barriers. Uniformed officers and dogs, both surly and trained, bellowing orders. Thorough searches. Confiscation of toiletries. X-rays. With all our belongings on a plastic tray that we would have to return and stack neatly after the security check, in the baggage reclaim area.
I don’t know why images of Auschwitz or Birkenau which we’ve all seen at some point… I’m letting my imagination run wild – perhaps I should stop reading cheap sci-fi pulp fiction and focus more on the real world.