What should be the human race’s biggest concern about the future?

This is an interesting topic that could be controversial depending on one’s own politics as well as personal morals and values. It is because this topic is so controversial that it is often debated upon in today’s political discussions.

In my own personal opinion, though, I think that one of the most important issues and biggest concerns humanity should be concerned with going into the future is that of wealth inequality as well as the income gap. There are several countries in the world where wealth is not distributed equally enough. Besides not being distributed equally enough, there are very large gaps between the rich and poor in these countries. The so-called “middle class” is gradually disappearing.

I do think that the middle class used to be a prominent social hierarchy in developed nations in past generations. However, it seems to rather quickly be becoming a thing of the past. This is especially prominent in some countries such as my home country of the United States.

Many American citizens, especially of the younger generation, have grown wary about or become apathetic toward their government as well as the overall political system in their country. They do not think that politicians have their best interests in mind or take the issues that matter to them seriously.

This is one of the reasons that I think that political ideology and discussions revolving around it have become so divided in the US. The income gap that exists in the US between the rich and the poor is growing larger with each and every day. This, in turn, makes the political discourse and discussion very divided.

Now that we have pointed out this concerning issue that exists in our world today, what is the outlook for it in regards to the future? Basically, I think that there are two trajectories that this issue can take. One of them, I feel, is in a negative direction whereby nothing is done in regards to the problem and it continues to fester, becoming a bigger and more serious problem going into the future. I think that if this situation were to come to fruition, it would encompass several economic and social repercussions in developed countries around the world. On the other hand, the other direction that this particular issue could take would be in a more positive direction. That is, that developed countries and economies of the world would do something, as well as take particular and specific actions, to correct or fix the problem. One such proposal in this regard is the so-called “Universal Basic Income” law. This is one such proposal whereby wealth from some of the richest citizens or residents of a country is collected via taxes and then that wealth is redistributed to all citizens of the nation equally.

Of course, no system or solution is perfect, but I do think that the proposal of a universal basic income would do well to mitigate, as well as alleviate, some of the negative risks or negative repercussions which could be a result of the income gap or wealth inequality.

Luis

Vocabulary

wary (adj.) – not having or showing complete trust in someone or something that could be dangerous or cause trouble
ideology (n) – the set of ideas and beliefs of a group or political party
trajectory (n) – a process of change or development that leads toward a particular result
fester (v) – to become worse as time passes
come to fruition (v phr.) – to become a reality