I actually pondered this question for most of the day. Trends is such a broad term. There are many different categories of trends: Mega trends, Macro-trends, and Micro-trends to name a few. I thought I would narrow my answer to historical megatrends. Some I have listed below:
Agricultural Transition, The Industrial Revolution, Globalization, and Urbanization.
If the Agricultural Transition were to be wiped clean, we would still be nomadic hunters. Farming as we know it would not exist. There would be no stable food source, no trade, and absolutely no advancement of anything. If I were to erase the Industrial Revolution, we would still be living in an un-automated world. No television, refrigerators, air conditioning motorized automobiles, computers, or antibiotics. Globalization brought international trade and cultural exchange. Without it, we would be relying on local assets. I am not against a “Made in the USA” type of market, but if this progress had not been founded prices for our goods and services would have drastically increased, as well as, inefficiency. If I remove Urbanization, society would be extremely rustic. Don’t get me wrong – I am pro agriculture. But, a world without cities would alter civilization as we know it today. We would not have mass production and technology, modernized healthcare, and options for advanced education.
My point is that no matter what historical trend we would like to erase, we simply can’t. History cannot be rewritten. There are countless trends, fads, events, and a acts of discrimination that should never have happened. Yet if we erase them, we also erase the lessons they taught us. Without those lessons, we lose the opportunity to grow, to change, and to leave the next generation better than the last. Isn’t that what our civilization is supposed to be about – learning, improving, and moving forward rather than becoming stagnant and complacent?