Does the future look gloomy, interesting, impossible to predict or challenging? If you are unsure, it is worth keeping an eye on Tim Watkins website/blog.

How you see the last paragraph of this piece will depend on your personal vested interests. Here it is:

“Prior to the pandemic most people in the developed states were getting poorer. The response to the pandemic has no doubt accelerated the trend. It is tempting to predict that once the pandemic dust has finally settled, we may find ourselves in an economy akin to that of the Great Depression of the early 1930s. But that is not right either because we are moving into a period of “make do and mend” in which we attempt to eke out the lives of the material goods we already have (perhaps pretending to ourselves this is some kind of circular economy). Learning to repair the plethora of labour saving devices we have inherited could prove to be a smart move for any youngster leaving school in 2021; because ever fewer people will be in a position to buy new replacements. What money most of us are left with will have to be spent on increasingly expensive essentials like food, water, heating and lighting. That you will own next to nothing is without doubt; but don’t let anyone kid you that you are going to be happy about it.”

Those of us who think the future will be like that must begin to make our alliances and friends. We must develop our personal clusters.

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