Techno-economic paradigm shift

WHAT: Carlota Perez, British-Venezuelan professor of economics, highlighted in a 2018 lecture a perspective based on techno-economic paradigm shifts linked to the five industrial revolutions. In 1971, the 5th Industrial Revolution began and we are now about halfway through it, according to Perez. She points out that every revolution has its installation period of growth and prosperity, which builds up bubbles that later burst and are followed by a turning point with a recession. After a period of construction comes a “golden age” that has previously been, for example, The Victorian boom and Belle Epoque. Perez points to the two bubbles of the 21st century, the .com boom of 2000 and the Global Casino 2008, as the beginning of the turning point, and believes that a third boom may come that can help states, production and society to do what markets can not do yourself. This golden age is defined by two things: 1) active government action that tilts the playing field in favor of profitable innovation and dynamic demand, as well as reducing inequality: In addition, Perez describes the emergence of 2) a new desirable lifestyle and new job opportunities to meet it. Perez predicts 2018 that a new green golden age will come with a lifestyle that supports sustainable change and includes teleworking.

SO WHAT: Sustainability experts emphasize that social sustainability in individuals is a prerequisite for being able to make decisions based on economic and environmental sustainability. Even before the pandemic, we could see early adopters who adopted a new kind of lifestyle where work and adaptation based on it came secondarily in favor of choosing, for example, place of residence based on lifestyle instead of job. The Great Resignation is another expression of the fact that many are looking for a new kind of, more sustainable, lifestyle for themselves and may no longer be willing to adapt their lives too much based on their work situation.