To say we live in interesting times is an understatement.
There is a lot going on. To start, we are in the middle of a major technological boom that is going to radically alter society. While we cannot know exactly what will be the winner, we can see how things are changing before our eyes.
At the same time, governments are starting to really lose the confidence of the general public. The political spectrum is so divided that we are likely to see violence in many areas. Governments along with their crony institutions (mainstream media, CDC, Big Pharma, etc...) are starting to be question. What use to be the domain of conspiracy theorists is now starting to spread to the masses.
We are likely entering a period where the next 10 years sees a massive collapse in the confidence in government. Much of this is tied to the economics. As I wrote the other day, the EU is just about cooked. This is going to send shockwaves through the entire global economy.
Unfortunately, this is probably the first of a number of epicenters that implode. In many ways, the debt gig is up.
This will also have a profound effect on how people relate to governments. Due to technology, we are likely to see a shift which will surprise many.
Free Agent Populations
Anyone who watches professional sports knows how teams behave when a top-notch player reaches free agency. All that are interested court the player. It is similar to a college recruiting trip.
The red carpet is rolled out. Agents are bombarded with phone calls. The offers come flying in. A bidding frenzy starts to take place.
We know all the power resides in the hands of the player. If he is that talented, most teams want him. Thus, the selection is putting the ball entirely in his court.
It is a situation that could be repeated with populations. We could see "free agency" enter here.
There is no doubt that many developed countries are facing demographic issues. This means they are facing an aging population followed by a likely decline in numbers. Global decrease in birthrates has all but ensured the demise of many countries. Even if they wanted to stimulate more births, the population is such there aren't enough women (of reproductive age) to pop out enough kids.
In other words, that train has passed.
Which means the only option is immigration.
Traditionally, this was the arena of refugees and migrant workers. While some higher end individuals fell in this category, it was often on a short term basis. The lower middle class and below is where we found the mobility.
This is something that could be extended to include most everyone. We are going to see changes that will likely make governments desperate.
Remote Work
At the core of this is remote work. Technology is allowing anyone who looks at a screen tied to the cloud the option of working from anywhere with an Internet connection. Basically, with the addition of something like Starlink, this means anywhere in the world in a few years.
This is revolutionary.
Suddenly a bunch of middle-to-upper middle class workers can relocated to a country during their working years. We saw, in the past, retirees often leave a country for lower cost of living areas. Now, we could see this taking place on a bigger scale.
Keep in mind all those countries that have a large population today but are facing a decline. That likely equates to a reduction in the economy, something that governments cannot afford.
In short, they need to attract people.
There is another wild card in all this. We could see second world countries start to accelerate the process.
Let us say an El Salvador decided it wanted to attract 250K people making $60K or more a year. This is a reasonable number considering its proximity to the US along with its climate.
The path would simply include investing in infrastructure, policing, and other services that are required for the standard of living these people are accustomed to. Of course, the appeal is the lower cost of living along with a potential reduction in government intrusion.
If the country does not offer this, it will not meet the hypothetical objective.
Now consider this across the entire world.
Let The Competition Begin
It will only take a few nations to start the process before all you know what breaks loose.
Never before has migration been so easy. In the next few years, technology will advance it to the point whereby people can basically be operating from anywhere.
Historically, the migration of populations typically followed the jobs. People moved for employment. This is not going to be a consideration. As more engage in remote work (digital if you will), the need to be in a specic geographic location will dwindle. This could really take on new meaning if the network-state ideas starts to take root.
All of this means governments (politicians mostly) will have to compete. No longer can they operate in a tyrannical fashion since people are going to depart. Those facing existing demographic issues will be confronted with a multiplying factor. The first wave will be a brain-drain since the educated and affluent are always the early ones to leave.
This will only spread to the other levels of society.
In the end, the shift in power will be stark. It is unlikely that many are looking at things from this perspective.
Nevertheless, it is a probable outcome within the next 20 years.
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