Reflecting on the 21st Century.

EMPLOYMENT of older people; CASE method (Teaching); CLIMATOLOGY; CONTINUING education; ECONOMICS; FORECASTING; HISTORY; LONGEVITY; MEDICAL technology; MEDICARE; OPTIMISM; PESSIMISM; REFLECTION (Philosophy); SOCIAL security

Population aging, in America and around the world, is entirely predictable, but the future in which it will take place is open. This article offers two alternative versions of aging in the twenty-first century. The negative scenario foresees economic decline and environmental disaster, along with conflict between generations and diminished support for age-based entitlements. The positive scenario foresees healthier longevity, combined with lifelong learning and productivity over the life course, in a setting of technological bounty and wider prosperity. These contrasting scenarios can give us directions for policy planning and individual initiative in the years to come. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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