Personal Reflection XI - How has the world changed since 1990?

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In a number of ways. Here are a few off the top of my head (not in any order).

1. The global economy is several times larger with nations such as China and India playing a more important role.
2. Large Western Cities such as London and Paris are much more multicultural than they used to be.
3. There is a strong consensus among the center-left and center-right that Free Trade works. This wasn’t the case necessarily in 1990.
4. Islamism is far more of a global threat than it used to be.
5. Unions don’t enjoy the level of power in the West today that they had in and around 1990 (although their decline in power in the US was becoming evident).
6. Identity politics play a more important role domestically. LGBTQI issues are much more prominent.
7. Technology…The Internet was a sideshow in 1990…Hell the World Wide web was not even around. Now it dominates almost every facet of our lives including our social interactions.
8. Growth of the Blogging culture and the fall of traditional media.
9. The GOP have moved more to the Right on political issues while the Dems have gravitated further to the left.
10. The Gramscian walk through the universities has turned many a university department into an ideological camp rather than an institute for free an open inquiry.
11. Women have greater representation in the professions.
12. Information is much more easily available…The challenge now is to distinguish the quality from the drek.
13. People are much more easily offended. Culture of victimhood is strong.
14. A greater percent of graduates are more likely to have to find jobs outside their field of study.
15. Birth rates in Europe have continued to plummet with the continent looking more Post-Christian than ever.
16. The Arab Gulf States have significantly expanded their international business outreach.
17. Russia has replaced the Communist Oligarch with a new Cult of Personality.
18. The Hispanic Population of the US has grown to become a very important player in California and several other South-Western US States.
19. Over 2 billion people have been added to the World population.
20. The EU has grown into a giant bureaucracy.
21. Viral Memes are everywhere.
22. Modern music is more likely to be contrived and derivative.
23. Cultural and moral relativism has a much greater footprint in the modern discourse.
24. While a global full out nuclear war between superpowers is considerably less of a threat the odds of a rogue nation (such as Iraq) acquiring nuclear weapons technology is much higher.
25. The US Debt total debt was only 55.5% of the GNP in 1990. Today it is 106% and widening.