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# A Brave New World
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As Nostradamus predicted the arrival of the third antichrist in the new millennium, and the coming of the apocalypse, he touched upon an irony that he could never have hoped to foresee. Indeed, an era had ended, not in the physical form that he had expected, but instead in a purely ideological form, encompassing vast sociological transformation and the founding of new perceptions. The old world officially has become a relic, and the new age has begun; a manifestation of new beginnings.
Pillars have been built anew in science and technology. In early September 2008, a global network of erudite professors based in Switzerland powered an experiment, thus initiating arguably the most auspicious landmark in the physics community. Named the Large Hadron Collider, the breakthrough has brought the most scientifically questioning minds in humanity into a position to answer questions over the potential of time travel, the chemical composition of dark matter (which accounts for the vast majority of the mass in the observable universe), the understanding of higher dimensional reality, but ultimately and the most important of all, the unravelling of the holy grail of modern physics, the universal ‘Law of Everything’. This theory would incorporate all known forces into a unification of elegance and simplicity, and lead to the discovery of phenomena with the potential to radically re-imagine our way of life.
Just as the famous Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler laid the foundations for all of the modern mathematics that we implicitly engage in today, perhaps the Swiss will once again harbour a revolution in our future understanding of our existence in the universe.
If the lack of tangibility of the potential promise of what I have just described has left you perplexed, I leave you with this quote from Albert Einstein, *“The eternal mystery of the world is its comprehensibility."* We have endeavoured to prove him wrong.
What has been more tangible however has been the breakdown of old age traditions, imposed stereotypes and predetermined perceptions. Just as another notable Swiss was dethroned by an up and coming star of the future on the greatest grass court in the world, did we see a new beacon of power reborn in a shower of gold this summer. Concurrent with Nadal’s show of uncompromising improvement on the smaller stage, China has displayed to the world that they are a serious contender for the future title of global influence.
To draw such a comparison may not fully encapsulate or justify the potential of the socio-economic changes in the Oriental East, but one thing has been made startlingly clear; Post-Maoist, neo-Communist China will play a fundamental role in shaping the future. Since the reforms abetted by Deng Xiaoping, a blossoming of newfound opportunities reflected in simple digits has been the envy of the West. Coupled with economic influence comes political power, and it is perhaps only a matter of time before the world number one is left in second place.
However, to expect that the share of future power would be spread with such unilateral results would be rather foolish thinking. Along with the world’s continuing thirst for energy, Russia has shown that they have a strong stake in global destiny. Long has it been since Boris Yeltsin managed a country stricken with economic instability and decline, a country forced by the collapse of the central planning system, and which has since emerged into one of the fastest growing industrial and agricultural centres of the modern world under the rule of Putin and more recently, Medvedev.
Even as we move back into Asia, another powerhouse of potential announces itself in confidence. With the second fastest growing large economy in the world, India has reinvented itself as a major exporter of financial, research, and technological services. Couple this with their rapidly expanding capitalisation of natural resources; India has proven that there will not simply be the birth of a sole superpower in the continent of Asia. Manmohan Singh’s economic policies no doubt have left an echo to Deng’s previous accomplishments, but this is not to foreshadow or to belittle any achievements resulting from their economic legislation. Their change is truly astounding.
With all this promise of change, of development, and of new potential, one may readily neglect the fundamental fact that where there is a need, there is a cause; otherwise recognized as the universal cohesion of ‘cause and effect.’ Many may have been aware of Al Gore’s reflection and reassessment of worldwide change, or more specifically, climate change. In this vein of thought, the new millennium has indeed heralded a new urgency, an underlying threat to the environment that has been elevated to a new level of importance. With increasing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere, global warming has been linked to radical changes in sea levels, ice-cap shrinkage, and extreme weather conditions.
Indeed, referring back to the topic of ‘cause and effect’, there is now no more imperative time to tackle the source of such a prevalent phenomenon. Although solutions have presented themselves in the harbouring of natural gas, nuclear power, and hydro electric power, there is no more important time to act than now. The new century may truly prove to highlight the human ability to adapt and compensate, but in a method which displays a greater level of maturity and selflessness in regards to future generations.
But with the above paragraph still fresh in our memory, it is in me to declare that a new force has monopolised human sympathy and fear; a force caused by lack of accountability and a hunger for liquidity, and which has led to an effect that has almost crippled the modern financial system. Many say that it is the worst crisis since the recession in the early 1980s, one which was caused by a contraction in American monetary policy, established by the Federal Reserve. Some even go so far as to compare recent events to the Great Depression of the 1930s, when the words debt and credit were as responsible as it is today.
Those who understand the economic concept of ‘fractional reserves’ are already close to comprehending the key mechanics which have resulted in the famous ‘boom and bust’ cycles of the modern era, and in some element appreciate a sense of natural inevitability. However, to reiterate from before, with cause there is an effect, and a global response has commenced to tackle the problem. Nevertheless, the long term reaction to the economic development will shape the underlying mechanics of the new age. Regulation and accountability has characterised the forefront of a banking revolution which will factor into a major element of financial adaptation in the coming decades.
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The term ‘baptism by fire’, or ‘baptême du feu’ as it was originally coined, denotes a common vernacular to describe an individual doing something ‘the hard way’ for the first time, just as a soldier’s training does not effectively prepare him for the horrors and traumas of a real war. It is with such a background that the world has seen one of the truly defining moments in modern politics, and has helped underpin the face of the beginning of a new stage in history.
It was only forty years ago when having a particular colour of skin would prompt discrimination and hatred in one of the most developed countries of the world, a country where a prominent civil rights activist by the name of Martin Luther King Junior stood before thousands at Lincoln Memorial to proclaim his image, or more poignantly, his ‘dream’ for the future. Even the greatest optimists of his time would think twice when presented with the possibility that within half a century, a black American would be appointed to the highest office in the United States Government.
Be that as it may, one cannot overlook the terminology which I introduced at the beginning of this passage. Just as a phoenix is reborn from the flames, so too had Americans invested their hopes into Obama to be their phoenix. Although it may be possibly too much to expect Obama to become the physical representation of a ‘deus ex machina’ to the problems plaguing the world today, he succeeded in becoming the embodiment of a major shift in society which will no doubt inspire millions more, and will truly mark the beginning of a critical re-assessment of the future political identity of the globe.
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Human history is identified by key defining moments. The discovery of fire, the invention of the wheel, Roman expansion and decline, the Renaissance, the Industrial Revolution, and the Modern Age. Where the past has been primarily characterised by bitter imperialistic struggle and primitive ideological skirmish, perhaps we are now at the cusp of a Post-Modern Age, an age where humanity will yet again undergo intense radical change to adapt to the ever-evolving ecological, economical and political climates. But to those of my peers, who like I, have graduated from the formal education system, perhaps it is true to say that we have indeed already encountered such change on a personal level, for we have indeed entered our own ‘brave new world’.
There is one thing that is certain however, and that is uncertainty. Aldous Huxley, the inspiration for my title, may argue bitterly with George Orwell over the future of our collective way of life, but who can deny that these past few years have formed a foundation for what will soon be written into history books as one of the greatest chapters of human existence, I for one look on with bright optimism.
*O, wonder!
How many goodly creatures are there here!
How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world,
That has such people in't!
The Tempest (V, i)*
