None of us can see the future. We don’t know what 2036 will bring.
We all like to tell ourselves that we can, or do, and maybe we actually see little bits of it coming before we catch up, but none of us see the whole picture. This, ultimately, is part of what it means to be human.
However, it seems we can’t help ourselves at least try.
As we enter the second half of 2020, we emerge from a period of time marked by wild and turbulent upheaval, with the world changing in ways big and small that none of us could have imagined in our wildest dreams at the start of 2020. As we enter the second half of the decade, events around the world are beginning to push us in a direction that looks set to be even more turbulent and unpredictable than the first half of the decade.
In this topic, we’ll do what we can’t help ourselves do: we’ll try to predict what the next decade will look like. I say form, not just the future itself, because that is the best that humans can actually do.
These pages are filled with articles written by some of the most influential and intelligent people engaging in this space trying to look ahead and offer something of value to you, the reader. Some have offered in-depth analysis of how larger geopolitical trends might unfold, others have written more playful musings on the different aspects of what our lives will be like day-to-day, and some have written what I can only call warnings or reminders of what we should keep in mind as we navigate the next ten years.
Every few generations, the world seems to go through some turbulent upheaval. A radical transformation that overturns the system and institutions that maintained the previous shape of the world. I think we are entering that next period now, and perhaps we have been standing at its door since 2020.
Chaos and change are not only reasons to give in to fear or anxiety, they are also reasons for hope and optimism. When things fall apart, it not only means the end of what was there before, it means there is room to build something new. It signals the beginning of something new at the same moment it signals the end of something old.
The next ten years will be the biggest opportunity yet for Bitcoin. We can either spend it building optimistically, putting our energy into achieving the positive impact we see Bitcoin can have on the world, or we can waste it doing the opposite.
Ultimately, the shape that the future takes when it finally arrives on our doorstep will be the shape that all of our individual actions and choices will shape it.
Make them count.
Don’t miss your chance to own Case 2036 – Featuring articles written by many influential figures in space who reflect on the challenges of the next decade!
This piece is a letter from the editor that appeared in Latest Printing press Bitcoin Magazine, Issue 2036. We’re sharing it here as an early look at the ideas explored throughout the full issue.
