Peter Drucker talks about the Next Society:

The new economy may or may not materialize, but there is no doubt that the next society will be with us shortly. In the developed world, and probably in the emerging countries as well, this new society will be a good deal more important than the new economy (if any). It will be quite different from the society of the late 20th century, and also different from what most people expect. Much of it will be unprecedented. And most of it is already here, or is rapidly emerging.

It's an expansive and excellent survey in The Economist. He discusses the near future in four contexts:

  1. The new demographics - the repaid growth of the older population matched by the rapid shrinking of the younger generation
  2. The new workforce - Knowledge replacing production as the driving economic force.
  3. The new protectionism - An explosion of manufacturing protectionism as manufacturing in the 21st century moves the way of agriculture in the 20th century.
  4. The new corporation - Management as distinct from as opposed to an extension of operations.