Good question, D-R, and some interesting answers.
Well it's a very complex subject, the most important there is for humanity. If the question implies full worldwide disclosure, there is a lot to
disclose and it could lead to some major repercussions for trust in govts such as that in the US who have knowingly covered it up for so long. From
Roswell to the SDI star wars program, billions of US$ have been spent on pursuing the technology behind closed doors, at the expense of e.g. social
programs.
I don't see it happening soon, unless the ETs want to take control of the situation. They could obviously disclose themselves any time in a way which
could not be ignored even by the media - like as an example parking in the sky above say 50 major world cities, all day and all night for several
days. It seems they choose to stay in the background so as not to disrupt human society too much, yet are obviously there as they are seen by tens of
thousands each year. 'If you want to search, you'll find out about us. But if you're determined to ignore us, OK' seems to be the way most of them
operate.
Then there's the abductions, which seem quite sinister and certainly indicative of power and technology such that they can do whatever they want
without bothering to seek any kind of consent (though people are not usually intentionally harmed). Then there's the animal mutilations. If a govt
were to disclose, it would mean admitting they know about all this and are absolutely powerless to do anything about it.
In the light of this I think the possible implications for human society might be quite serious. Reactions may vary a lot. For serial abductees, an
end to scorn and skepticism, of always having to be guarded and secretive about what they are put through, of not being believed. That would be a big
change.
For most people in the west (and the east), it would probably be quite positive overall. Though beware of numerous 'they are our saviours' cults
springing up to replace redundant belief systems. I can see inflexible, fundamentalist religious belief systems being shaken up quite a lot. The idea
of ETs being evangelized at is not a very enticing prospect!
Imagine the tens of millions of people wanting to travel to the stars with the newly-acknowledged visitors. There is little prospect of this dream
being realizable for everybody, at least not in the short term.
Philosophical implications - possibly large. A lot of hard-line believers in conventional scientific models are going to take a bath alright. SETI
funding is not likely to last too long.
New energy sources to render fossil fuels redundant for ever: what would be the short/medium term implications for the oil & gas industries? What
about stock market collapse? The automobile industry? Fossil fuel dominated economies of places like Saudi, Iran, Russia?
On a positive note, remember Ronald Reagan's speech to the UN...
www.youtube.com...
he knew disclosure would need to come sometime, and in his small way tried to prepare the ground.
The prospects for the nationalistic way we divide up the planet and the petty tribal squabbles we engage in might be in for the biggest change. But I
suppose that might depend on the nature and intentions of the ETs and the way they interact with us.
Or they might reveal themselves in a major way, then choose to pack up and leave and return in another 500 years. With our present mastery of
technology - basically only 200 yrs from the horse and cart - we could hardly follow them. But we'd know they're out there, for sure. That might
make a big difference.