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With luck, in a couple of decades, it will seem embarrassing that anyone had to hold a conference to debate the relevance of competition. (excerpt from The Economist Apr. 12. 2017)

Why is "will" used here instead of "would"? or may I say "it will seem embarrassing that anyone hold....."?

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  • Because the writer is speculating about the future ('in a couple of decades', i.e. twenty years from now).
    – Kate Bunting
    Sep 30, 2017 at 8:21
  • In the future it will seem embarassing that in the past someone had to hold the conference. Similarly: “Sam has left without his bag. He will be home tomorrow. Tomorrow I will ask him why he didn’t bring his bag when he left.” Asking is in the future; bringing the bag is in the past.
    – Janus Bahs Jacquet
    Sep 30, 2017 at 9:26
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    Why do you question the use of will in the sentence? It's perfectly normal English. Maybe you should ask questions on English Language Learners, not here.
    – Arm the good guys in America
    Sep 30, 2017 at 14:50

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