10 Concepts for The Economy 2.0

The Economy 2.0 covers 10 ideas around how the 21st century economy will work and how it can benefit everyone if a few changes are made. In the light of neoliberalism breaking down thanks to the 2008 recession, the 21st century will be a dynamic and changing place as the developed world seeks to find its course and the BRICs rise to more power both politically and economically. While some of the solutions of the past will be helpful (unionization) there are new ideas that need to take hold like independent work, freelancing, creating new businesses for new jobs, automation, and truly creating a global economy that raises all boats in all countries. The Economy 2.0 is the time to think globally beyond the constraints of nations or even globalization.

The 10 Concepts:

1. The balance between creators and the people
As the creative class rises we need to understand what the creative class needs to thrive as well as how it can work with regular everyday people in other classes. This means that companies like Google who send busses for their employees to the detriment of others will need to work more collaborative with other stakeholders in their communities to create solutions that keep creators creating and neighborhoods whole and happy with the advancements being made.

2. Economic systems positive and negatives: test cases: UK, China, Asian tigers, Germany
The big economic stories of the 20th century were all set in Asia, however, many people were not paying attention to the economic miracle in Germany or why the UK was so punished by 2008 (unless you worked in finance). While everyone was focused on the Asian tigers like South Korea, no one noticed the tremendous export and manufacturing economy that also balanced democratic socialism in Germany. This proved that societal reforms that work for workers and work on the world market in a developed economy are possible and the whole world can take a lesson from that. The Asian Tigers and the collapse that caused the Asian financial crisis as well as the downturn currently in China show us what can happen when capitalism is allowed to go on unfettered without proper regulation of both equities and currencies as well as capital controls. In the 21st century, governments would do well to be mindful of these lessons.

3. Morality
Having a strong moral compass in The Economy 2.0 will be vital. Every nation and every company should have an ethics ombudsman that reports to a central ethics board within state and federal governments. The social impact of companies and the way they treat others should be consistently evaluated and adjustments or prosecutions made when unethical behavior goes on.

4. Labor vs management: a zero sum game
The 20th century saw plenty of labor wars between the works and management, in Economy 2.0 this isn’t helpful. Lets change the way we work with workers. It’s becoming obvious that there is a new economic system as we relate to workers emerging (see #2) that means that people are now a more important resource than ever before and need to be treated as such. A more collaborative model is needed to create successful companies in the 21st century.

5. Globalization
We are post-globalization. The world economy is a global, living, breathing organism, let’s start talking about it that way. Rather than viewing emerging markets like Africa and Asia and something different, realize that these are all apart of an interconnected global organic economy that can be served by a variety of products and services by companies all around the world that can and should work collaboratively with local governments for the best outcome.

6. Why localization is not the answer
Think global act local is dead and is very damaging. Many small businesses aren’t businesses at all, they are jobs that people happen to own. They don’t tend to innovate and they don’t tend to make much wealth. However, with some changes in policy and using platforms like eBay and Amazon we can take local businesses global. A toy shop in Ohio should be able to sell to the world just like a weaver in Nairobi or a small run electronics factory in China. For private people, sites like Upwork and others in the right growth industries, can give workers access to a world of clients and potential employers, this is the kind of thing that should be fostered economically that would create collaborative relationships and help the whole global economy work together for the benefit of all.

7. Love your big corporations, hate their management/culture
Big corporations give us important things like iPhones and wearable tech, it’s not big companies that are the problem, its their management and their culture. This was no more obvious than the recent article about Amazon in the New York Times. Corporate culture can be a soul-sucking nightmare, but it doesn’t have to be. It can be both productive and conducive to actually living. More vacations, personal time off, and flexible time when workers need it for child care, elder care, and other personal problems is vital. Using employees like fungible resources that can be disposed of like trash bags simply is not going to work in the 21st century.

8. The new “work” (immigration)
Many workers in The Economy 2.0 will be packing their bags for countries where their job is needed and sending the money home or making a good deal of money and then returning to their home country or deciding to stay permanently. In the Economy 2.0, the globe is the job market and smart workers will go wherever they are needed both physically and digitally. Look for more nomadism as people move around the globe to bootstrap startups, work for new companies, and create new opportunities in a new truly global economy. Combined with the other factors, the face of work will be changing dramatically in the coming years.

9. Energy: the problem that started it all
Many of the economic problems of Economy 1.0 were caused by energy. In Economy 2.0 energy is still a factor but somewhat less so. For Economy 2.0 to work well we have some energy problems to solve and the technology is already here to solve it. Start looking for new nuclear plants to come online as well as solar farms, more developments with solar panels and new wind farms to be powering the economy in the 21st century. In transportation, sustainable fuels including hydrogen and electric will be very important to the infrastructure that keeps us moving in the next 85 years.

10. Education
Education has come under much fire as of late, especially higher education. However, as the information economy grows alongside engineering, design, and consulting having a solid education will be very important. Specialization is the key to success. New advancements in education that blend together traditional class room instruction, experiential learning, and self-guided learning will be the lynch pins of education. No longer will education be merely top-down from teachers and authority, the students will be taking a far more important role in their own education using online tools and available partnerships with institutions and businesses.

The future can be bright for the new economy, we just have to take advantage of it!