Skyline of Shanghai, China. Image courtesy J. Patrick Fischer.

The end of WWII ushered in a modern age during which a great number of former colonies became independent through peaceful and violent means. The resulting world is one of very uneven wealth where a relatively small number of people have access to all of the benefits of modern life, while a majority do not. A large number of people live in extreme poverty which makes their lives shorter and sicker than the wealthier peoples.

Regardless of whether you live in a developed or developing country, there are a number of challenges that extend beyond national boundaries. Environmental degradation caused by human activity affects us all. Whether it's small-scale farmers burning down the Amazon rain forest or large-scale industries releasing pollution into the atmosphere, we all share the blame and suffer the consequences of these actions. As citizens of the developed world, we will have to reduce the impact of our actions which tend to be greater than those of poor people. We can all understand why people in poorer countries might want to have many of the things that we have, but will the world be able to support a growing population that consumes as much as we do? How will we balance mankind's desires with the environment?

Another feature of the modern world has been conflict rooted in religion. The creation of Israel out of the British mandates in the Middle East at the end of WWII led to many years of war between Israel and its immediate neighbors who refused to recognize its right to exist. Currently, the possible development of nuclear weapons by Iran has caused great concern for some Israelis who believe that the Iranian government might use it to try and attack.

Struggles in the Kashmir region between Islamic Pakistan and Hindu India have also created a dangerous situation with two nuclear-armed enemies going to war several times over their relatively brief histories.

Finally, the terrorist attacks against the U.S. and some Western European nations by Islamic fundamentalists has dominated much of the world's attention and resources over the past ten years since the September 11th attacks. America has been engaged in a War on Terror ever since which has cost thousands of lives and billions of dollars. These attacks have also transformed the lives of people worldwide as governments spend more dollars and time engaging in surveillance to try and prevent the next attack. The death of Osama bin Laden and the impact on al Qaeda, hopefully, will lead to less terrorism in the future as people try and solve their differences through peaceful means. As American troops left Iraq in December 2011, we can only hope that the future will be less violent and that we can focus more on spreading the benefits of human advances.