George Friedman
- Internationally Recognized Geopolitical Forecaster
- Founder and Chairman of Geopolitical Futures
- Founder and Former CEO, Stratfor
- Best-Selling Author of The Next 100 Years
- Association of Professional Investment Consultants (APIC)
- Talks at Google
- U.S. Naval Academy
Geopolitical Trends Businesses Need to Watch
The next 100 years will see political powers rise and fall, but the basic matrix remains the same. Russia and China will weaken, as Japan, Turkey and Poland fix their internal issues and rise. The United States will maintain its position as the primary global force.
The current trend of population decline in the developed world will spread globally, leading to cheaper land as demand decreases. For the first time in centuries, labor will be the expensive commodity as capital seeks to augment the shrinking workforce. Global GDP may fall, but per capita GDP will rise. Subsequently, the main technological breakthroughs must be in medicine, making people more productive as their lives extend toward 100 years.
The ability to produce highly educated workers from the lower levels of society will define the status of nations. Policies that support the efficient use of labor are the key. The surge of the educated and informed class will pose challenges to regimes. The regimes can suppress the challenge and weaken geopolitically; or, they can allow the regime to evolve and strengthen geopolitically. This is the key choice.
