9 "Guaranteed" Visions Of The Future That Will Make Us All Look Stupid

5. Nation States Will Cease To Exist And There Will Be One World Government

Superstates and world governments have been tipped as the next big thing since globalisation connected us all on an unprecedented level (or, if you listen to the conspiracy theorists, we already have a world government). But one things that many of the political scientists and sci-fi fans tend to forget is that we've already had a lot of superstates in the past, and they often didn't end too well, neither did they flourish into world governments.

Remember the Romans? The British Empire? The problem is that, when you have one central authority governing that amount of people, it's easy to lose control. In more recent times, the UN is being undermined, and the EU has just seen a high-profile withdrawal from Great Britain. The trend is actually moving towards national identity and sovereign power.

Although globalisation is bringing the world together, it would fall apart if it were to totally unite, as it relies on having different states and economies to trade with one another.

The Exception: If we discover a galaxy of aliens to trade with. Or China takes over. Which it might.