Wiil democracy and survive the future? By Henry Bury The Intelligencer T\ /Tark Leeming is writing a book about the IVifuture. And he's not going to paint a pretty picture, either. The 26-yesr ,M lUlcville native, a self-confessed thinker, believes ibe r vture isn't as bright as many people would like to believe. "It's not an optimistic picture for the future,* Leeming said. "If certain trends don't stop, there is a logical conclusion, I believe. And that will be a noticeable loss of personal freedom." Leeming has already written a book - Life is an Endless Proverb. While some people write poetry, he writes proverbs; some 1,700 proverbs are in his first book. Leeming said he thinks a lot about where society is headed, ever since he was introduced to the Book of Proverbs and literature from the Old Testament a decade ago. He has also travelled extensively and that got him thinking about everything he has seen. His proposed fictional mini-novel about the future - set in the year 2040 - will revolve around a young man who slowly clues into the collapse of democracy in the western world and the onslaught of dictatorship. For the book, Leeming said he has studied certain trends in society and is carrying them through to their logical conclusion. "Obviously, there is always hope. But if these trends continue, that's what I see happening," he said. Leeming believes democracy as we know it today - will collapse in the western world, followed by social anarchy and chaos "which Mark will all give rise to some form of Leeming dictatorship. People won't be free." He said the idea of democracy as this "magical" thing that will continue without end has to be dismissed. "We have to realize that democracy is a privilege. It's a fragile thing that can be destroyed if people don't look out for the common good." Internal corruption and a vme-first' mentality, he believes, will eventually destroy democracy. Leeming predicts the erosion of the relationship between church and state will contribute towards democracy's decline. "As the church loses its influence in society, the state will fill the vacuum ... I feel the state will become too involved in influencing what people should believe," said Leeming. The third factor affecting the future, he believes, is the rebirth of Marxism (collectivism). "It's not dead but alive in academically elite circles in the western world ... what the elite academia think will eventually affect ' government policy." Under Marxism, Leeming believes an elite governing body will rule over society, "telling us what to do."