In my last column I wrote that humanity is in transition from one Age to another and that the global financial collapse is a painful part of that transition.  This occurs during any major historical transition period.  In addition I wrote:

“There are four words that keep coming back to me as I view the landscape of what lies ahead in 2009 and beyond.  They are contraction, cleansing, reorganization and transformation.  It is these four words to keep in mind as you read the forecasts here and look around you”

I repeat that because most of the economic predictions below …

This is the third year I have provided readers with a forecast for the year ahead.  This forecast will be spread over several columns..  This first column frames where we are in a large historical context and the trends and forces that are reshaping the world as we enter this New Year.

The general feeling in the U.S. and around the world is relief that 2008 is over and uncertainty about 2009 and what lies ahead.  These two years are part of a 5-7 year transition period between two ages.  Humanity is moving from the Information Age to the Shift Age.

Whenever …

The year 2008 will obviously go down as one of the most eventful years in recent history.  It was the year that Barack Obama was elected President of the United States.  It was the year that the Internet replaced print and TV as the driving force in a presidential election. It was the beginning of the end of 15 years of divisive cultural politics in America.

2008 was the year of the worst economic collapse since the Great Depression.  This collapse was the first one since the beginning of the new global economy and thus showed how humanity and all of …

China is nothing less than a historical phenomenon. In just 30 years the country has moved from being a closed, communist country with a rural economy to one of the most economically powerful countries of the world.  It is the first country in history to move from the Agricultural Age to the Industrial Age to the Information Age and now to the Shift Age in 30 years.  The U.S took 200 years to do this.  This must always be kept in mind when looking at China.

It would be impossible to move this rapidly without significant problems, disruptions and upheavals.  These …