This might be a weird one, but here goes....I believe that pacifist policies, and policies that decrease violence of all kinds, starting as soon as possible--are the only way the human race can survive. Here's why...
Technology is advancing at an incredible pace, and the pace is (as always) increasing. One day, advanced technology will be so common place, that every person will be capable of endangering others around them on a catastrophic level. Don't believe me? Well, let's take just one modern example: 3D printers...aren't they amazing? They're getting faster, better, more precise--using new materials, gaining new abilities. Well...one day, we're going to be able to 'print' our own molecules, in our homes. You'll tell it what you want, and it will fabricate it...now imagine what a malicious person could do with that. And it's very unlikely that we can simply, or at least successfully, restrict that technology from spreading.
So, here's the part that I imagine is unpopular with people (and the part where my first statement comes in). Society, whether we want to believe it or not, operates on a pretty widespread 'collective consciousness'. There are things people are used to, that they accept as the norm, and there are things they don't accept--and none of it is really set in stone...it's all very fluid and malleable. For example, 70 years ago the US dropped Atomic bombs and firebombed Japanese cities. Well, can anyone today really imagine that a major world power could Nuke an entire city, and it would be ok? Can anyone really imagine that our conflicts with Russia could start a World War? I think we all know that, while governments may still operate in similar modes to the Cold War & WW2 era, very few people would be amenable to a draft, or to fighting in a war to justify the petty squabbles of politicians. We're all too busy browsing Reddit.
Well, that's a good thing. Because our contentment means we're not ready to die, or to kill. Our internet culture means we know more about other nations than we ever have, and generally speaking we really don't want or care to kill the people over there. We might even like them. But what we haven't decided is deplorable, and unconscionable, are lone nutcases murdering people around them by the dozens. And those lone nutcases, 50 years from now, can destabilize and entire society.
So, my (possibly unpopular) belief, is that we will either enter a sort of police-state culture in order to control the crazies...or we will gradually move toward a society that doesn't like violence, doesn't like guns, wants to know our neighbors and to speak to them and to know if they're okay or if they need any help...and eventually violent deaths will become so uncommon that our 'collective consciousness' doesn't even allow for it. Any violent death would be national news, as if a world power had dropped an atomic weapon. And the causes, the effects, and the solutions would be immediately addressed.