From Capitalism to "Digitalism"

Among other factors, human evolution has been dominated by technological and scientific progress, both of which interact with the real world and impact on the economy and, as a consequence, on our society and our lives. Every historical era, and thus every economic and political era, has followed its own particular course, with particular characteristics that have generated the paradigms of the relative collective. Based on the time period, we can detect the changes which mark the threads of the economy and march in lockstep with the demands of the market and the innovations which the era’s “desires” and “uses” generate. From this it is possible to extract a rough depiction of the entire society, and thus flesh it out. 

Different economic models lead to the creation of different social classes (for example, from slaves, gladiators, knights and merchants to manual laborers, entrepreneurs and so on), and every era has put into place, with effort and oftentimes against a greater or lesser inertia, a series of norms and social protections which have responded to the needs of the moment and constructed a model of how to live better. These regulations and safeguards might be catalogued as the “rules” on which a society is based, a sort of instruction manual for a game, that of mankind, which is fair and sustainable. This is, or should be, the “mission” of every set of regulations, and thus it has been since the dawn of history when – as per the Latin maxim ?Ubi homo, ibi societas. Ubi societas, ibi jus. Ergo ubi homo, ibi jus? –, the first outlines of how to foster a peaceful co-existence were established. 

Today we cannot fail to notice the profound changes which are sweeping over, and are set to transform in a radical way, our society. There is an apparent nexus between the interaction of the digital technological revolution and countless aspects and spheres of the current historical moment, especially in the world of work. These are undergoing a radical reorganization with a cascade of knock-on effects with broad impact on the whole collective.

This is nothing new: without going too far back in history, such was the Industrial Revolution and such will be today’s Digital Revolution.At the moment, in fact, we find ourselves in the same conditions as during the 1800’s when the innovation caused by the introduction of machinery into factories swept away the society of the world just prior to it. From that moment spring the battles to improve work conditions and workplaces, the environmental impact of production, environmental norms, the right to study, welfare and many other aspects as well. Starting from that phase, we have, in fact, created the model of liberal democracy and today’s political and social structure, the best in history.

If the Third Industrial Revolution was paid for by the blue-collar workers, that is to say the workers who saw, and even today, see, their role slipping backwards in society, the new revolution that is awaiting us, and especially that of blockchaintechnology, will be paid for by the white collar workers whose contribution to work will be heavily redimensioned. 

The signs of the momentous changes underway are already evident: it is not by chance that there is an anti-political wind blowing. Nor is it by chance that one is seeking more support from the strongman than from the political parties. There is to be a dismantling of the public cohesion arising from a consolidated system of common values, the flipside of which is a profound sense of social solitude which gives rise to anger and a feeling of being lost. All of this is the result of the ever-widening gap between the masses and a global elite which is educated, digitized, and growing progressively restricted and more powerful as it sails smoothly against the headwinds of an interconnected and digital world. On the other hand, we find the flattening out of the middle class, which is seeing yesterday’s economic realities change and is struggling to understand the developments and to find solutions to provide continuity for itself. In the new global digital world, this group has lost its orientation as well as its identity. All this is compounded by the enormous problem of privacy, which parallels the concepts of liberty and self-determination.

Nevertheless, we will never reach a moment called the “Future” and it is not possible for us to throw away all that we have gained throughout history at such a high cost and via the rules system, that is to say our liberal democracies, the market economy, the whole apparatus of constantly and eternally evolving social protections, as well as the principles of civil rights and duties. The real strength of homo sapiens has been to maintain the thread of social and civil cohesion while creating social cushions and, on the basis of economic and historical changes, learning how to weave together a system of norms, the famous “instruction manual” which certainly, once suited to needs, sets as its course the future of an always better society, but never an entirely perfected one. An adage of an old sage comes to mind “Whatever happens, suits the intelligent man,” and this ought to be our guide.

Living the present often translates into the impression of living in a unique and exclusive bubble of time, but those living in every era and in every time period experience this same feeling. What is now, has already been, and like what has already occurred, today we have to design our future with the understanding that the era of capitalism is fading and we are preparing ourselves to live a new era: that of digitalism.

Like it or not, a large portion of the power which was the prerogative of politics, or rather that which was inherent in the social and economic organizations of the States, is migrating today into the hands of digital entities which may even be of a private nature (think Google, Facebook, and Uber, to name just a few). Therefore, the weight that blockchain technology will have is not at all negligible. From this perspective, I believe that it may be agreed that the control of information understood as “might and right,” now centralized, could, or rather should, be decentralized and shared by the network, and that digital technological dominance must not end up being the prerogative of privates, but instead a form of wealth shared by the collective.

Government roundtables must be opened to analyze the extent of the impact of digitalism and these roundtables must understand that the perfect storm must be navigated through, not succumbed to. Incentives for competitive innovation, sponsorship of innovative public projects including possibilities for self-regulation at the point of origin, legislative interventions to create a flexible and useful rules system to discourage potentially dangerous concentrations of power, protection of the rights to privacy and to truly free information: all these, and more, are necessary. And perhaps we are already late.

The solution, and hope, resides in regulations which are focused on the common good and which, as such, for a peaceful and healthy society, must safeguard it.A concept which is clearly expressed in the words of Edward W. Younkins in his book Capitalism and Commerce, Conceptual Foundations of Free Enterprise: “Whereas society is a spontaneous order, the state is a protective agent with the monopoly role of enforcing the rules of the game.”

Giovanni Perani

A special thanks to Blockchain 4 Innovation