LONG WAVES AND GEOGRAPHY IN THE 21ST-CENTURY

Intersecting macrohistorical rhythms provide insights into the process es that will guide geographical change in the first half of the next c entury. The repetition of long-wave rhythms provides a key to what lie s 25 and 50 years ahead, helping us to identify the patterns, determin e the processes, and work out their logical consequences. To understan d this it is necessary to clarify the concepts of 'techno-economic sys tems' and 'long waves of prices' and their interrelationships in 'grow th logistics.' A second key to the next half-century is provided by th e baby boom-baby bust generational rhythms that interlock with long wa ves and growth logistics at double the frequency. Together, the two ke ys not only provide a macrohistorical framework for unraveling the cou rse of economic and social history; they provide a basis for geographi cal anticipations. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.