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Once we get invaded by aliens and we have another species to be racist against.

Another near extinction event that takes us down to about 1200 individuals should do it.

Honestly?

Heat death of the universe.

Our biology is hardwired for tribalism.

Somewhere around the time when there is three humans left on the planet, two of them will unite together to kill the third one. For a brief moment after the third one is dead the last two humans will be united in not knowing which one will attack the other one first.

I have this personal belief that a lot of problems in this world would be solved if we ended poverty.

The mental health pandemic, conflicts, corruption. It all gets exaggerated because people can't fulfill basic needs or even pursue happiness. People are then more easily weaponized and subverted.

A little rant here, but I blame liberalism and US politicians purely for abusing their influence on a worldwide basis. Not that Europe isn't part and parcel of the issue, but if we look at Nixon, Reagen, "new public management", "trickle down economics", not to mention subverting US labour in a capitalist persuit to export manufacturing and fabrication to COMMUNIST CHINA, we see that "leaders" of politics and industry ruined modernity with their hypocrisy and social manipulation to justify degenerate greed, narcesism and idolatry.

I don't think it was fully intentional. I truly believe they have swallowed their own KoolAid - in that they are delusional, as well as degenerate while wearing "the emperors new clothes" and manipulated politics to conform to their delusions. This should be the issue of our time, in that poverty can be eradicated if we just got our collective heads out of our asses.

End rant.

It isn't in our nature as a species to unite and work together. The closest we got was COVID and even the threat of mass viral death only united us for about 2-3 weeks before people were starting fights over closed hair salons.

Sadly, I don't think it'll ever happen.

There is always going to be someone that wants power over others. And someone who hates others. It's human nature. We'll never be like the perfect Star Trek world, all chummy and getting along.

More like The Expanse.

Moving away from hyper hierarchic systems that concentrate power would be a good start.

It's never going to happen.

10^106 years, when "the universe enters the so-called Dark Era and is expected to consist chiefly of a dilute gas of photons and leptons. With only very diffuse matter remaining, activity in the universe will have tailed off dramatically, with extremely low energy levels and extremely long timescales."

Globalization is already well underway, our economies are entertwined, our technological advances, our medicine, knowledge, and even entertainment.

There is war, incompatible theologies, racism, hate, and all sorts of stuff that has the appearance of not being "united". As long as humans exist those things will persist. We're not robots, our flaws exist because of the nature of our biology.

I think it's fair from at least this perspective to say we're already united.

Literally never

As long as it takes to develop brain implants that no longer get rejected or make you die from vomiting, and everyone gets to join "𝕏, the unified consciousness".

(* what we work towards, may no longer reflect any individual desires)

Never going to happen.

The Culture series from Ian banks shows how that can happen: beneficial AIs take over and govern to the good of all living beings.

I don't know how long, but I'm still hopeful. Humanity has gone from small groups of nomadic family groups, to early city states housing thousands, to countries uniting millions. The mediocrity of modern capitalism makes us forget what we've achieved through the millenias.

The radical transformation we are provoking on our ecosystem will humble us and push us as a specie to adapt yet again. It'll be quite a ride and who knows what's on the other side.

I think one of the best ways to unite people is a common threat or enemy. Since an alien invasion is unlikely, we're left with a couple less clear scenarios that I can think of:

1. A crazy rogue nation hell bent on plantary destruction would probably get a unified response. Best candidate is a Republican controlled United States or perhaps another petro state ignoring carbon emissions with climate change really getting bad.

2. Climate change just gets really bad and demands a coordinated response.

3. An international revolution that removes power from the currently ruling classes. My thinking here is that international conflict is started by oligarchs and other elites across the world. For example, I doubt the average Russian would even consider invading Ukraine if it weren't for those at the top running a shit economy and using the media to spread lies. Similar for the Chinese and Taiwan, Americans and the whole world, etc. I just have a hard time believing large human populations would fight over something in this age without being encouraged to do so by those who would benefit.

I don't think that's likely, we are apes not angels.

Sometimes we have conflicts, some are probably resolvable, some represent fundamentally opposed interests.

We can try to make society different, so there are fewer situations that lead to irresolvable conflicts. That project will never end.

Whether this gives you hope or grief is largely up to you.

I don't think that will ever happen.

Is that really what we want?

imho there should always be a place where people who disagree with the powers that be can go and do their own thing.

Again, my opinion, but I think maybe 80% unity is the way to go.

I doubt we'll ever end up with a future wherein all of humanity is fully united and working towards a unified society. But that doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing. Divergence in beliefs and attitudes can be a healthy thing as long as it doesn't hurt the individual.
Maybe, in hundreds of years, we might unified enough that we can tolerate and accept each other's differences. I have no idea what that future would look like, but I'd be happy if we manage to achieve that much.