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How to Catch
a Falling Civilization Many observers of Western civilization's history have gloomy outlooks for its future, but they disagree on the reasons for its impending doom, says scholar Nader Elhefnawy. This disagreement is more than philosophical: If we cannot agree on why civilization may collapse, there is little hope that we could agree on preventing it. Some scholars, Elhefnawy points out, have a mystical or moral paradigm for understanding the development of civilizations, and therefore our decline is related to the increasing decadence of society and corruption of leaders. Other theorists believe saving civilization may be more about helping citizens use resources more effectively than fretting over their leaders' morality (or their own). See "On Dark Ages." If culture clash or cultural misunderstanding is behind the world's strife, then one tool for overcoming it--and building a more peaceful future--is better information. Distinguished research engineer Joseph Pelton, an expert in satellite communications, describes the work of the Global Legal Information Network to link the world's law libraries and courts so that misunderstandings on differences in national laws can be prevented. See "Toward a Global Rule of Law: A Practical Step toward World Peace." And to get a glimpse of how members of the World Future Society contribute to civilization saving, see our overview of highlights from the 2007 conference ("Thinking Globally, Acting Locally, Living Personally,"). With an estimated 900 futurists sharing their unique points of view--even if these sometimes clashed--WorldFuture 2007 gave much reason to be hopeful about civilization's prospects. --Cynthia
G. Wagner
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