History and the Future of Humankind

In the 21st century there is a good chance that most humans will lose, they are losing their military and economic value. And this opens the possibility of creating huge gaps between the rich and the poor - bigger than ever existed before in history. The age of the masses is over: we take millions of soldiers into First World War but once people are no longer really necessary, you can't rely on trickling down medical advances to everyone. Maybe the biggest question, I think, of 21st century economics is what will you need people for, or most people for, in 2050?