‘It is the business of the future to be dangerous.... The major advances in civilization are processes that all but wreck the societies in which they occur.’
— Alfred North Whitehead
This observation by Whitehead has always held a certain fascination for me. It suggests a kind of moth to the flame relationship - with its attendant and inevitable dire consequences. A 19th and 20th Century mathematician and philosopher, Whitehead penned these oft quoted lines in his 1933 work Adventures in Ideas.
The worlds of 1933 and that of today are technologically quite diverse. There is, however, no denying their striking economic similarities. In an astonishingly short span of time we have seen the birth of the Internet and the spread of information technology. We have also witnessed the near collapse of our financial markets and widespread paralysis in our economic systems. Once bedrock business assumptions – and the companies that relied upon them – seem to teeter and fall into oblivion on a near daily basis.
Is this wreckage of the sort observed by Whitehead in the wake of advance? Is the carnage merely the consequence of some less noble human frailty such as insatiable greed or criminal activity? Are we in the midst of a perfect storm’s multiple combination of factors? Questions, no doubt, for historians to ponder and – in due time – answer. But worth contemplating in the midst of the maelstrom, nonetheless.
This blog will document one contemporary view on the implications posed by technology interwoven within the fabric of business and society. Don't know if any groundbreaking solutions are in the offing. But, if recent contemporary events are any indication, it should be an interesting ride.
The worlds of 1933 and that of today are technologically quite diverse. There is, however, no denying their striking economic similarities. In an astonishingly short span of time we have seen the birth of the Internet and the spread of information technology. We have also witnessed the near collapse of our financial markets and widespread paralysis in our economic systems. Once bedrock business assumptions – and the companies that relied upon them – seem to teeter and fall into oblivion on a near daily basis.
Is this wreckage of the sort observed by Whitehead in the wake of advance? Is the carnage merely the consequence of some less noble human frailty such as insatiable greed or criminal activity? Are we in the midst of a perfect storm’s multiple combination of factors? Questions, no doubt, for historians to ponder and – in due time – answer. But worth contemplating in the midst of the maelstrom, nonetheless.
This blog will document one contemporary view on the implications posed by technology interwoven within the fabric of business and society. Don't know if any groundbreaking solutions are in the offing. But, if recent contemporary events are any indication, it should be an interesting ride.
