A homogenized planet where "a Chinese citizen in an Americanized world-state" speaks "in worn and polluted English" to his Sudanese wife? [Olaf Stapledon, Last Men in London, 1932]

The Yellow Peril?

"It is sufficiently known, but not, perhaps, generally noted in our country, that many military men abroad, familiar with Eastern conditions and character, look with apprehension toward the day when the vast mass of China – now inert – may yield to one of those impulses which have in past ages buried civilization under a wave of barbaric invasion. The great armies of Europe, whose existence is so frequently deplored, may be providentially intended as a barrier to that great movement, if it come. Certainly, while China remains as she is, nothing more disastrous for the future of the world can be imagined than that general disarmament of Europe which is the Utopian dream of some philanthropists." [A.T. Mahan, "Hawaii and Our Future Sea Power," New York Times, January 31, 1893]

How about the elimination of animals deemed to be pests?

"The rabbits in Australia, and the far more objectionable poisonous snakes in South America and India, have been exterminated by the capture of a few dozen of the creatures in the infested districts, their inoculation with the virus similar to the murus tiphi, tuberculosis or any other contagious-germ complaint to which the species treated was particularly susceptible, and the release of these individuals when the disease was seen to be taking hold. The rabbits and serpents released at once returned to their old haunts, carrying the plague far and wide. The unfortunate rabbits were greatly commiserated even by the medicos that wielded the death-dealing syringe; but, fortunately for themselves, they died easily. The reptiles, perhaps on account of the wider distribution of the nerve centers, had more lingering but not painful deaths, often, while in articulo mortis, leaving the holes with which they seemed to connect their discomfort, and making a final struggle along the ground, only to die more quickly as a result of their exertions. We have applied this also to the potato-bug, locust, and other insect pests, no victim being too small for the ubiquitous, subtle germ, which, properly cultivated and utilized, has become one of man’s best friends." [J. J. Astor, A Journey in Other Worlds: A Romance of the Future, 1894]

Or an idealized world, such as follows:

"Skip forward 200 years into the Utopian future, and the scene is totally different...In that age when there is no manual labor and everyone is ‘educated’, it is hardly likely that Father will still be a rough man with enlarged hands who likes to sit in shirt-sleeves. And there won’t be a coal fire in the grate, only some kind of invisible heater. The furniture will be made of rubber, glass, and steel. If there are still such things as evening papers there will certainly be no racing news in them, for gambling will be meaningless in a world where there is no poverty and the horse will have vanished from the face of the earth. Dogs, too, will have been suppressed on grounds of hygiene. And there won’t be so many children, either, if the birth-controllers have their way." [George Orwell, "North and South." From "The Road to Wigan Pier," 1937]

These five scenarios of the future were written in our past. They do not exist in our present.

Were they even feasible? The first example, that of connecting Boston (United States of America) and Liverpool (Great Britain) via pneumatic tubes, may be technologically imaginable, but is it economically desirable?

The second citation is already taking place. Homogenization is occurring through globalization, with the U.S. as the sole superpower, the Chinese being the most numerous, more racial intermarriages, and English as planetary lingua franca.

In so far as the third scenario is concerned, the so-called China Threat is a current theme in American politics and pop culture, especially with the primaries of the political parties and the issue of toxic Chinese toys.

The fourth passage does not seem to be in the works. Germ warfare against unwanted insects, reptiles and mammals might tip the ecological balance into the abyss. In any case, SARS and avian flu show that it is the animals that are having a field day at the expense of the humans. Or mutually assured destruction.

The fifth example has a tongue-in-cheek quality. Nevertheless, the nuggets of social commentary are still worth excavating.

Three of the scenarios are sourced from the literature of science fiction that have become classics, while the other two come from socio-political essays. Yet all five share the intent of painting better worlds. Betterment that springs from technological upgrades and moral certainties.

There are many other "worlds of if" and some are dystopias. Jose Rizal, for instance, in his multi-part "Philippines A Century Hence" essay for La Solidaridad, warned of a bloody racial war unless the Spaniards grant their Filipino wards the essential reforms of liberalism to convert their Asia-Pacific colony into a legitimate province of Spain and outpost of Western civilization.

To forestall, if not prevent, Armageddon, the liberal democracies and the advanced capitalist states have learned to practice the first habit of highly-effective people: be pro-active.

Part of this package is conflict management and Pax Americana that simultaneously promotes defense contracts and police operations. The strategy includes balancing the use of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons with unconventional war tools. The Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate prioritizes the development of rubber projectiles for crowd dispersal, acoustic bioeffects to deny access to an area, high-power microwave devices to disable vehicles, the Canister-Launched Area Denial System with payloads of concertina wire, bounding nets and malodorous substances, fast-curing foams to seal doors, the Vortex Ring Gun, and dyes and kinetic impact rounds as underbarrel tactical payloads of the standard M16 rifle. [John B. Alexander. Future War: Non-Lethal Weapons in Twenty-First-Century Warfare. New York: Thomas Dunne Books, 1999]