Joseph Jackson on Wealth Transformed

We’re asking each of the participants in The World Transformed to give us their thoughts on one major coming transformation. Here are Joseph Jackson’s answers:

If you were to pick just one current or coming transformation that you would advise people to focus on, which one would that be?

The emergence of an infrastructure to support true abundance.
What should we be doing about it?

Humanity must transform its relationship to technology and use it as enabler of abundance and universal prosperity by guaranteeing the ability of all users to access, use, modify, and redistribute knowledge and technical artifacts free from the restrictions of bogus intellectual property concepts.  The Free Software movement sought to guarantee users software freedom.  Similar such freedoms are needed for all other technology domains (hardware, biotech, nanotech, cleantech).  Technology should not be viewed as as a business model or directly monetizable asset, but as an input to actual business models that deliver products and services.  This conceptual shift can move us away from rent seeking behaviors and abusive corporate restrictions that stifle innovation and control consumers.
What’s in it for us if we get it right?

A radically improved economy, greatly accelerated technological innovation, and a stable geopolitical balance of power.
What are the risks if we don’t?

Civil unrest as capitalism reaches its breaking point and the gap between have and have nots reaches absurd and untenable levels, resulting in a tragedy of artificial scarcity that could lead to total civilization failure modes for humanity.
About Phil 523 Articles
Phil Bowermaster is a nationally recognized author and speaker. He has more than 25 years experience writing about emerging technologies and the future. As co-host of the popular Internet radio series, The World Transformed, Phil has talked with leading scientists and technologists, best-selling authors, philosophers, filmmakers, artists, entrepreneurs and others who are shaping our understanding of the amazing era of transformation in which we live. Phil helps leaders and their organizations develop strategies for managing accelerating change. He shows how imagination, optimism, empathy, and humor can make all the difference in both understanding and making the most of the powerful currents of change we face.