History as usual

From JMG´s blog (comment #185 after "Tomorrowland has fallen").

>>>Derrick, that is to say, we have a lot of rough territory to get through between now and 2200. I’m not disputing that. 

>>>Obviously ideologies will change as circumstances change, famines and other causes of mass death will happen, and various technological gimmicks will continue to be floated as long as the energy and resource base permits — though I’ve noticed very few people seem to consider the possibility that the technologies you’ve mentioned may turn out to be much less effective than their sales flacks claim! 

>>>There will be wars in the decades ahead, some of them with very high body counts. The population of the world is already peaking and will begin to decline shortly, and most people seem to have no idea just how far it will drop (hint: the usual figures for a civilization in decline bottom out at 5-10% of peak population). Nations, cultures, religions, and technologies that seem solidly fixed in place today will go out of existence, some of them with a bang, some with a whimper. 

>>>That’s history as usual — and it doesn’t prevent there from being cities in 2200 where most of the population has relatively decent access to necessities and certain conveniences as well.