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The 20th century was the century of science and technology
that dramatically and irreversibly changed society and civilization.
Ocean-liners that bridged continents and railroads that conquered
the old West gave way to inexpensive and widely available
jet travel that reduced the world to a global village. Electric
power brought automation, which quickly relegated manual labor
to menial jobs at the low end. Agricultural advances quickly
produced a surplus and farms today only employ a small percentage
of the population in most advanced countries. The age of electricity
and radio rapidly switched to TV, electronics, computers and
the Internet—electronic consciousness.
Startling new developments emerged from bioengineering as
scientists played with DNA, altering chromosomes, adding and
subtracting genes, mining the results of a new understanding
of the human genome. Through consistent conquering of disease,
medical advances succeeded in extending the normal span of
human life to almost a century. And the trend continues.
During the latter part of the 20th century, communism collapsed;
democracy and capitalism seemed to emerge as the clear paths
to follow. In the developed world, the stock markets had risen
to unprecedented heights, making many juvenile dot.commers
into instant millionaires. The harnessing of technology by
capitalism seemed an unconquerable combination.
At the turn of the century, satellite communications connected
the world for simultaneous viewing and some six billion souls
on this planet went through the countdown together, excitedly
and anxiously, as time ushered in a new year, a new century
and a new millennium. For a brief shining moment, it seemed
that humankind was close-knit and indomitable, looking positively
for a powerful extrapolation of past success.
But, in year one of the new century, on a date equivalent
to an emergency telephone number that will remain forever
etched in our minds, the dream of a capitalistic Camelot had
a sudden and rude awakening. More than anything else, September
11, 2001 represents a benchmark, a transition to a new century
where the old solutions are no longer applicable. New, hard
problems have arisen, which defy the hard technology solutions
of the past. Our warships, cruise missiles and F-16 jets now
look like obsolete, lumbering things. Indeed, the low-tech
box cutters served to demonstrate the exposed vulnerabilities
of an open democracy. The subsequent widespread cutbacks and
the efforts to provide relief through government aid, demonstrate
the fragility and inadequacy of capitalistic enterprise with
a short-term profit motive.
Please do NOT mistake my rhetoric as an argument against
capitalism or democracy—I am a staunch and an ardent
believer in both. Here, I am simply seeking solutions to the
hard problems that have been exposed. My purpose is to point
out that both capitalism and democracy will need to adapt
to the realities of the new age. It is clear that the problems
we face are hard and cannot be solved by the old hard solutions
that might have been effective in the past. New, soft solutions
are needed. The coming century is a century of soft things.
The fathers of the new world described capitalism as "enlightened
self-interest". The instinct for survival is hard-wired
into our genes. The vital soft element is "enlightened".
Unbridled, self-interested capitalism simply makes the rich
richer; in the closely interconnected global village of a
new century we must recognize that perhaps it is equally important
to make the poor less poor. We need to find ways and means
to sell the softness of capitalism.
During the next few decades, most experts agree that population
in developed nations will begin a serious decline, while continuing
to surge ahead in underdeveloped nations. In a democratic
world, made ever smaller by the instant access of media and
information, the more populous nations should, by the definition
of democracy, be in control. In any event, their very numbers
will inevitably lead to conflicts and splintering. In some
parts of the world, the education and environment generates
beliefs and values that are diametrically opposed to ours
and, if unchecked, will fester and spread like some awful,
virulent disease that will try to destroy everything in its
path. Unlike physical bio-terrorism, this is a spiritual disease—a
sickness of the soul.
As we enter an age that professes to eschew race, color and
creed, it is indeed disappointing that ethnic and religious
conflagrations continue. But, amidst the hard realities of
the new century, we cannot continue to be disappointed from
a distance—we are intimately and inextricably involved.
A new, enlightened, global community must find soft ways to
eliminate hatred and prejudice.
Here are some hard problems, with possible soft solutions:
- The global village exacerbates the gap between rich and
poor; vast populations view our excesses while they subsist.
Let's educate the less fortunate so that, rather than see
the seedy side, they are exposed to the freedoms and warmth
of our culture.
- We espouse democracy, but if the world were truly democratic
(beyond artificial boundaries) things would be very different.
Supporting democracy in some developing countries has been
called "too messy"—so, under the guise of
non-interference, we prop up and placate dictatorships.
To be true to our democratic principles we should withdraw
our support for non-democratic governments.
- Science-based society is highly vulnerable to destruction
by high-concept-low-tech terrorism with opposing values.
Beyond just guarding against terrorism, let's work to correct
the causes.
- Capitalism is still the best way to make money, but does
not generate value beyond self-enrichment for a few, with
trickle-down benefits for the rest. Capitalism cannot succeed
through ME-ism—we must find more ways to foster US-ism.
- Corporations crumble easily under even short-term stress.
Employee-ownership has already broadened participation in
the fruits of success. Let us find more ways to encourage
longer-term perspectives on a broader front.
Notes:
During the course of the next few weeks/months, I will be
working on this new theme: "Soft Solutions for Hard Problems".
Your inputs, ideas, feedback, commentary, suggestions and
encouragement will be much appreciated! eSpeak to me: jim@jimpinto.com
Copyright © 2001 Jim Pinto. All Rights
Reserved.
Jim Pinto is a technology entrepreneur,
investor, futurist, writer and commentator.
You can email him at: jim@jimpinto.com.
Or look at his poems, prognostications and predictions on
his website: www.JimPinto.com
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