George Friedman (a geopolitical forecaster, founder of Geopolitical Futures and NYT bestselling author of “The Next 100 Years”) published “The Storm Before the Calm,” predicting in 2020 the reshaping of foreign policy, economics and culture that we are currently experiencing. He explains this upheaval as a unique convergence of two cycles that the U.S. has repeatedly experienced throughout its history – a 50-year socioeconomic and an 80-year institutional cycle. He saw these cycles converging in the mid-2020s with great disruption, but resolving in the 2030s stronger and more stable. An optimistic message for our troubled times. An alternate view argues that, although society’s sentiments swing back and forth in the years after wars or plagues, there’s no steady metronome rhythm to history.