The authors' vision of how technology will transform economics and governance felt too important not to share immediately. What's remarkable is this was written in 1997!
2 minute reading time:
The Fourth Stage of Human Society
You now stand at the threshold of the most profound revolution in human history. Microprocessing is poised to subvert and dismantle the nation-state, giving rise to entirely new forms of social organization.
This transformation will not be easy and will unfold with unprecedented speed—far faster than anything witnessed in the past.
History Repeats Itself
This situation has happened before. When new technology changes the economy, old institutions lose influence and people's moral values shift. People start to dislike those in charge of old systems even before they have clear new alternatives.
In the late 1400s, despite the medieval Church's power in feudal society, many looked down on priests and bishops—similar to how people often feel about politicians today. There's much to learn from comparing the late 15th century, when religion dominated, to today's politics-dominated world.
The Information Revolution
A completely new kind of economic activity will grow in the online world—one not controlled by physical force. The biggest winners will be the "cognitive elite"—people who use knowledge and skills—unlimited by country borders. These people already live and work comfortably in cities worldwide like New York, Tokyo, and London.
The Good News: The Information Revolution will liberate individuals like never before. For the first time, those who educate themselves will be almost entirely free to create their own work and fully reap the benefits of their productivity. Genius will be unleashed, freed from both government oppression and racial/ethnic prejudice.
In the cybereconomy, they will never see you. The ugly, the fat, the old, and the disabled will compete on equal footing with the young and beautiful—in complete, color-blind anonymity—on the new frontiers of cyberspace.
Ideas Become Wealth
Merit will be rewarded like never before. In a world where the greatest source of wealth is ideas rather than physical capital, anyone who thinks clearly has the potential to become rich. The Information Age will offer far greater equal opportunities for billions in parts of the world that never fully shared in industrial prosperity.
The brightest and most ambitious will emerge as truly Sovereign Individuals, competing and interacting like gods in Greek myths. The new "Mount Olympus" will be cyberspace—expected to become the world's largest economy by the early 2020s. By 2025, millions will participate in this digital economy. Some will be as rich as Bill Gates. The "cyberpoor" will make less than $200,000 yearly. There will be no cyber welfare, no cyber taxes, and no cyber government.
The Bottom Line: Politicians won't be able to control most of this new digital economy—just like ancient lawmakers couldn't control Zeus. Because much of the global economy will be free from political control, governments will have to act more like businesses serving customers rather than criminals exploiting people.
If you enjoyed this summary -- don't stop the momentum - jump onto the next one.
😳😳😳😳 this is one of the most eye opening opportunity now
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading -- check out Chapter 8 added in the links below
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