Reading the Future: What Hamish McRae Gets Right About 2050

 

Review of the book "The World in 2050: How to Think About the Future by Hamish McRae"

Predicting the future is always risky, but Hamish McRae turns it into a thoughtful, disciplined, and surprisingly optimistic exercise. The World in 2050: How to Think About the Future is not a book about wild guesses or sci-fi dreams—it is a structured guide to understanding long-term forces that are already shaping our world today.

A Future Built on Today’s Deep Trends

McRae argues that to understand 2050, we must look at the “deep drivers” of change. These include:

• Demographics, especially ageing populations in wealthy countries and youthful momentum in parts of Asia and Africa.
• Climate and environment, not only as threats but also as engines of innovation.
• Technological revolutions, from AI to green energy.
• Global economic shifts, as power slowly moves from West to East.

What makes the book refreshing is McRae’s commitment to plausibility instead of hype. He avoids extreme scenarios and focuses on forces that already have momentum.

Optimism Without Naivety

Despite discussing major challenges—climate pressure, inequality, geopolitical tension—McRae is fundamentally optimistic. He believes:

• People innovate fastest when faced with real pressure.
• Technology and human adaptation can soften many of the worst outcomes.
• Society will—slowly but surely—move toward sustainability out of necessity.

This gives the book a hopeful tone, without denying real risks.

Clear Frameworks for Thinking Ahead

For readers interested in foresight, futures studies, and scenario building, McRae provides something very valuable:
a disciplined way to think about long-term change.

He encourages us to ask:

• What existing trends will remain strong?
• What forces are irreversible?
• Where will human choices matter most?

This aligns closely with futures literacy principles—understanding the future not to predict it precisely, but to make better decisions today.

A World of Cities, Connectivity, and Creativity

McRae’s vision of 2050 includes:

• Mega-cities becoming economic engines
• A world powered by clean energy
• Older societies relying on robotics and automation
• Cultural blending as education and travel become global
• Economies shaped more by creativity, services, and knowledge than by heavy industry

He is particularly good at describing how migration, education, and technology interact to shape national destinies.

Where the Book Excels

 Very clear explanations of complex forces
 Balanced optimism
 Useful mental models for anticipating change
 Strong attention to economics, demographics, and energy

Where It Might Feel Limited

 Less focus on cultural futures, identity politics, and social conflict
 Economic trends dominate more than technological disruption
 Lacks deep scenario exploration compared to futurists like Peter Schwartz or Alvin Toffler

Why This Book Matters

In a world overwhelmed by short-term noise, McRae reminds us to step back and look at the slow, structural forces that actually shape our future. For policymakers, entrepreneurs, educators, NGO leaders, and ordinary citizens, this book is a useful compass.

If you want a realistic, hopeful, and well-argued picture of the next 25 years—without doomsday fear or utopian fantasy—this is an excellent place to start.