Steve Omohundro suggests it might be something unexpected:

A new science of cooperation is arising out of recent research in biology and economics. Biology once focused on competitive concepts like "Survival of the Fittest" and "Selfish Genes". More recent work has uncovered powerful forces that drive the evolution of increasing levels of cooperation. In the history of life, molecular hypercycles joined into prokaryotic cells which merged into eukaryotic cells which came together into multi-cellular organisms which formed hives, tribes, and countries. Many believe that a kind of "global brain" is currently emerging.

Humanity's success was due to cooperation on an unprecedented scale. And we could eliminate much waste and human suffering by cooperating even more effectively. Economics once focused on concepts like "Competitive Markets" but more recently has begun to study the interaction of cooperation and competition in complex networks of "co-opetition". Cooperation between two entities can result if there are synergies in their goals, if they can avoid dysergies, or if one or both of them is compassionate toward the other. Each new level of organization creates structures that foster cooperation at lower levels.

I'm guessing that there needs to be some tension between these two factors. Each might have a role to play. Competition is useful for making selections, for settling which of two alternatives will succeed. Cooperation is useful for getting things done once the alternatives are selected.

I noted recently that -- not that long ago -- the human race consisted of small bands of two dozen or so people, each of which was essentially at war with the rest of humanity. Civilization enabled us to coalesce into larger groups, which were sustained by cooperation.

Likewise, at one point humanity was pitted competitively against many of the other species on this planet. Today, no other species is a real competitive threat. Although we have probably not done as well by other species as we should have, we now live somewhat cooperatively with many of them. Domesticating other species for food is an example of a kind of rough cooperation. But that's an earlier model. In recent years we have taken to trying to protect the habitat of animals with whom we once competed fiercely for resources, and others who viewed us as a resource to be consumed.

That's a pretty amazing transition. And it makes me wonder... If we observe human beings ultimately becoming friends and advocates of lions, wolves, and crocodiles, can we really believe that cooperation is impossible between any two human beings?

Cooperation requires developing compassion for others and trying to find common goals with them. A much more cooperative future sounds like an excellent idea to me.