2014 will be a crucial year whose events will lead the world to a century either of poverty and wars or of global peace – at least in the opinion of a reputed Cambridge professor. According to him, the US will decide the fate of humanity.
Nicholas Boyle sustains that events about to occur in the next few years will have a crucial impact on the destiny of the human race, as these events will launch either a century full of wars and poverty or a prosperous and peaceful future. The professor believes that recession is the first sign of changes that will take place; also, the professor claims that the era of national states is over, and now the world is made up of global organizations.
Boyle reiterates that, during every century of human history, the first 20 years witnessed events that changed the world. In 1517, Martin Luther wrote the Wittenberg Theses that marked the Reformation movement and the beginning of Protestantism. 1618 was the beginning of the 30 Year War, a religious conflict that affected the whole of Europe. In 1815, after Napoleon was defeated, the Congress of Vienna took place, which started an era of relative stability in Europe. A catastrophic human conflict, the First World War, started in 1914.
Professor Boyle wrote in his book, “2014 – How to Survive the Next World Crisis”, that every century has a well-defined character that stabilizes within the first 20 years, just like people’s personalities. Generation changes have an important role too, as they mark the replacement of old ideologies with new ones.
Boyle believes that the current financial crisis may be the mere beginning of a severe global crisis, and the US has a principal role in determining the direction human history will take. Depending on the US leaders’ decisions, mankind will commence either a century of violence and destitution, or a century dominated by Pax Americana. The professor sustains that worldwide peace is only possible if global organizations take over some of the roles of national states.
‘Significant economical transformation leads to important political changes we haven’t seen yet. I think there is another crisis coming, and the only unchanged place as of now is the American colossus. It has lost its economic power, but it has kept its military force, which will have a crucial role in the events of the near future. It all depends on whether this colossus functions any better than the British Empire before the First World War. The only harmonious solution is the continuation of Pax Americana, but for this the world has to see the US in a different light, and the US has to see itself in a different light, too’, declared Nicholas Boyle.