Neither robot engineers, nor virtual reality technicians, nor Big Data interpreters. The true profession of the future is the futurologist profession, as demonstrated once again in an economics summer overheated by this inclement weather and inflation.
On the part that touches the climate, heatwaves have inspired forecasts of temperatures of 50 degrees coming in Spain before the end of this decade.
The forecasts born in the heat of the price increase are slightly different. There are those who claim that it will start to fall in September, and on the contrary, there are those who declare a strong recession for this winter at the latest. Between climatic and financial disaster, the prophecies keep us in a whirlwind.
Although the witch Lola is already retired and away from the screen, new opportunities do not cease to appear for those who know how to consult the oracle of time (atmospheric) and finances. Climate scientists and economists, logically those who benefit most from this renewed interest in the issues of the future, are far more attractive than the boring present.
In the case of meteorologists, the ability to predict the future three days or fifty years into the future is inherent in the salary; But it’s not just them. Economists have also found a professional vein in the divination arts. People stopped paying attention to what was going to happen, possibly believing that the future was where they would spend the rest of their lives.
Unfortunately, there are more dire predictions than happy ones. Even Mariano Rajoy’s cousin won’t be in doubt at this point in the ongoing climate change process, with new and increasingly depressing forecasts being made by the succession of heatwaves or Filomena-model storms. And when it comes to the economy, the only optimist – for professional reasons – is starting to be government.
The remaining consolation for people who worry about the future is how badly predictors of disasters tend to fail when they spend their savings in the present.
For example, no one anticipated the arrival and rapid spread of the pandemic, for example; and almost no one knew how to warn us of the previous financial crisis in 2008. The future, always a riddle wrapped in a mystery within an enigma, is not easily predicted.
Even Nobel laureate sages like the American Paul Krugman are not entirely free to make mistakes when engaged in prophecy. Now ten years ago, Krugman predicted an imminent “corralito” in Spain and Italy, the exit of Greece from the eurozone and the eventual demise of the euro.
Frankly, the euro is still a legal tender ten years later. There were no cash restrictions for the Spaniards and Italians either, and of course the Greeks did not reuse the old drachma.
Scientists in other disciplines, such as climate, health or finance, may not need to specialize in Futurology. The job market is already demanding qualified futurists who meet the enormous demand for future predictions and tell us what will happen to the 2030 Agenda. The present no longer even concerns governments.