A Brief History of the Future

While many unpredictable factors could change the course and timing of events, Attali argues that history flows in a single, stubborn direction that no upheaval, however momentous, can permanently deflect. Analyzing the past in order to predict the future, he pinpoints three political orders in human history: the ritual order, in which religious powers dominate; the imperial order, in which the military powers hold sway; and the mercantile order, in which the paramount group is the one that controls the economy. Within the last named, the author makes a case that there have been nine distinct "cores," starting around 1200, each with its world center of power and prestige, and predicts what the tenth will be by the dawn of the next century.

Never, he states, has the world offered more promise for the future yet been more fraught with potential dangers. How we respond to the crises and opportunities that await us will determine what land of world we will bequeath our children and grandchildren.