7 Structural Shifts:

Entering 2024, it becomes increasingly important to shift the focus from immediate technological and demographic trends to the broader systemic tendencies that are likely to shape the future and options landscape. The seven drivers outlined below must be understood...

Chartbook 262 crisis tribes – on Europe now

Over the past 15 years, Europe has experienced five major crises. The climate crisis forced Europeans to imagine a world in peril. The global financial crisis led Europeans to doubt their children would enjoy living standards better than their own. The migration...
Has the “Polycrisis” overwhelmed us?

Has the “Polycrisis” overwhelmed us?

This year’s World Economic Forum in Davos was even more exhausting and bewildering than usual. Politicians love to say that you should never let a crisis go to waste, but even they seemed overwhelmed by a conference agenda that aimed to capture the full sweep of...

The 100-Year extinction panic is back, right on schedule

“Do you think we’ll need to buy guns?” The student’s question seemed to drop the temperature in the room by several degrees. I was at a dinner with fellow academics, a few college students and a guest speaker who had just delivered an inspiring talk about climate...

Friction is growing

The economy of the rich world is a massive, geological force—it plows onward with glacial power, pushing through obstacles like global pandemics; if it stalls, it’s usually only momentarily before it picks up speed again. Or perhaps to use a better,...