Today's Trends that Will Affect Us in 2030

“2030: How Today’s Biggest Trends Will Collide and Reshape the Future of Everything”
by Mauro F. Guillén
2020
St. Martin’s Press
$28.99/288 pages

By 2030, we’ll “be facing a baby drought,” especially in America, Canada, China and Japan. Declining birth rates in these economic-powerhouse countries will shift the balance of the world’s economies to countries in which the birth rate remains high. Migration will mitigate these changes, but not by enough to matter, says Mauro F. Guillén in his new book.

This will affect retirees, who will enjoy a renaissance of sorts when marketing and service economies begin focusing on them.

Remember, says  Guillén, that in 20 years, “the first millennials will go into retirement” and new technology will be created for them. On the other end of the spectrum, he says, people between the ages of 15 and 34 will be more mobile, embrace entrepreneurship more than similarly-aged people today and find it easier to work in a world economy. And they’ll likely shun home and car ownership.

As cities grow, climate issues and water problems will exacerbate. Obesity rates will increase, and AI will revolutionize homes and businesses. When we think of the future, a Jetsons-like existence often comes to mind but in “2030,” Guillén does not indulge flights of fancy. It’s based on fact. But it is missing something and that’s not Guillén’s fault. He couldn’t have known about Covid-19. In some ways, the pandemic lends new authenticity to Guillén’s words, since it’s possible to note minute directional changes already in-progress in some of the predictions he makes. In other aspects, the virus could impede or altogether alter the outlooks he sees. Still, this is an intriguing book.