Visions of the future ...

London lawyer Czechout, author of the Made in Scotland blog has some grim visions about a possible future that might flow from the current financial crisis. I doubt that these visions will become reality (and I certainly hope not), but it may well be true that some things we have taken for granted for decades will change. Personally I think (and have thought for some time) that a major shift in the balance of power in the world is underway, as a result of the unsustainable living standards we have grown accustomed to in western countries, way beyond the income generating capacity of most of our economies, coupled with the fact that many formerly poor countries now have access to enormous liquid reserves, plus their own lower (but admittedly rising) labour costs give them a tremendous competitive advantage; maybe Russia will be one of the new wealthy nations, but I think both its wealth generating capacity and its political stability rest on rather shaky grounds. China, India and Brasil (to name but three) are probably very different cases indeed though. As a commenter to Czechout's article recommended, I plan to 'Cheer up!' - we will undoubtedly get through the current difficulties eventually.