A deep crisis is paralyzing the
societies of the West. The outsourcing of low skilled manufacturing to
emerging economies has created a ‘precariat’ excluded from economic,
social and political life. The middle classes, already under pressure
from stagnating real wages, are afraid of suffering the same fate in the
digital economy. More and more people are asking if democracy in its
current form still gives them any say, or is in fact one of the drivers
of disenfranchisement.
Little has been done to rein in casino
capitalism. Under the pressure of financial markets, the seminal project
of European unification is about to collapse because of an economic
policy driven by European institutions that narrowly focuses on
austerity measures in already weak economies. They have undermined that
European project’s social contract. And, still, the disciples of market
radicalism continue to sing the gospel of supply side economics,
willfully ignoring the fact that it is the very lack of aggregate demand
that lies at the root of the crisis. Our fears and obsessions seem to
contradict the rational Homo Oeconomicus of economic textbooks.
Did we
build the pillars of the modern order – the state, the market and
democracy – upon unrealistic assumptions about our very nature? The old
certainties start to crumble.
Digitalization, robotization, and
Artificial Intelligence will change the way we work and live. Genetic
engineering and nano technology are changing what it means to be a human
being. The revolution of information technologies has shown how quickly
disruptive innovations can turn over entire industries.
The next
industrial revolution will once again come from the garage. Digital
tools like 3D printers allow us to manufacture everything from a cup of
coffee to vital organs with the click of a mouse. The household of
tomorrow will be a micro factory and a micro power plant the same way
social media turned it into a micro broadcaster. The developers and
makers, sellers and buyers are now connected worldwide through the
Internet of Things.
Read more: Shaping The Great Digital Transformation
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