Change, change and change

It is finally becoming mainstream. Economists are slowly appreciating the fact that the current technological progress is so fast and runs so deep into the fabric of our world that it does not allow for a smooth adjustment, but it is actually a revolution that is affecting the economy, society and politics as a whole.

This article from the Economist is quite illuminating at covering the issues facing the so called developed world:

• the concentration of wealth and increase in inequality
• the failure of meritocracy at increasing social mobility
• the growing elitism in education
• the inadequacy of the political system to re-balance society
• the blindness of the top 1% to what's happening around them
• the aging of traditional institutions and the loss of respect from the general public

Forecast is impossible when every bit of the fabric of the world is affected. The take home message, the only sensible conclusion is to explain to the widest audience that just about everything is changing and that resisting change is futile and will just bring more pain down the road. Politicians, economists as well as the media should prepare the general public to change.

There are two possible ways to get to the other side of this revolution, either by constant relentless change driven by politics, or by a sudden collapse down the road when the external and internal forces prevail over the status quo.

Historically, in times of change comparable to this one, such as the industrialization two centuries ago, some societies managed the former, others collapsed and started on new basis.