Convergence with Destiny
Convergence with Destiny was a 17,000-word feature article written by Marshall T. Savage published in November 1997, in the 5th of 13 issues of the First Millennial Foundation / Living Universe Foundation's publication, Distant Star.
It was the only feature article he wrote for Distant Star, and it is his only major published work besides his magnum opus, The Millennial Project (1992).
In it, he explains his disillisionment with the movement he founded and explains obliquely his reasons for departing from the FMF as it is renamed to LUF.
After five years of pounding my head against an intransigent public it has begun to dawn on me that the world at large is not ready to embrace First Foundation's message of mankind's rendezvous with stellar destiny, at least not yet. That is somewhat discouraging, but despite this I am more optimistic now that we will ultimately achieve our ends than at any time hitherto. The reason for this is a growing conviction on my part that the human race is riding a rocket that will ultimately carry all of us to the stars. This rocket is not yet evident in the literal sense, but figuratively I think it analogizes present history accurately.
— Marshall T. Savage, Convergence with Destiny, Distant Star, Volume 5, November 1997
In it, he expresses his realization that over the next century we will all be rich, thanks to economic growth. And this will make all things possible:
Let's talk in terms of GDP, gross domestic product. The GDP per U.S. worker today is $57,000. In 1890 the GDP per U.S. worker, in constant 1996 dollars, was $12,000. The leverage here is 4.75. An equivalent leverage in GDP over the coming century will put the GDP per worker in 1996 dollars at $270,000. If hours worked are taken into account, the relatively lazy modern American with his five-day week, his eight-hour day, his vacations, and his loafing on the job, actually produces something like seven times as much per time worked as the average worker in 1890.
— Marshall T. Savage, Convergence with Destiny, Distant Star, Volume 5, November 1997
His stepping away from the organization's day-to-day activities would not be announced publicly until the following early August, at the 1998 conclave, at a mexican restaurant event. Richard Crews made the announcement.
Sources
Convergence with Destiny, Distant Star, Volume 5, November 1997 [1]