Kerby Anderson

1. We can see some cycles in history. Yesterday, I talked about a political/cultural cycle. Today I want to talk about a technological cycle and a financial cycle.

   There appears to be about a fifty-year technological cycle, in which we see important technological revolutions. In the 18^th century, we saw the beginnings of what today we refer to as the industrial revolution. Fifty years later was the age of steam and railways that changed the world significantly. Up until that time, we had manpower and horsepower. Now people could move faster and carry heavier loads.

   Fifty years after that we had steel and electricity. Fifty years after that we had oil, automobiles, and a revolution in mass production. By the 1970s, we came into the age of information and telecommunications. Today, we find ourselves in a world of fast computers and artificial intelligence.

   Some of the financial cycles parallel the technological revolutions. America moved from an agricultural society to an industrial economy to an information society. If you look at the wealth cycles of nations, you notice something interesting. The financial superpower changes over time, with an average of about 100 years. Perhaps you have seen a chart that shows those changes from Portugal to Spain to the Netherlands to France to Britain to the US.

   As I have mentioned in previous commentaries, this country (along with other countries around the world) are experiencing a debt crisis. But this is happening as all three cycles (the political, technological, and financial) are converging.

   What is on the horizon? I think we are likely headed for a massive change in the future. We should all be in prayer for our leaders and prepare ourselves for possible turmoil ahead.