Capitalism 3.0
Claus Otto Scharmer, who is the creator of Theory U, started some research on how to transform capitalism in order to bring our system to the next level. He takes the article from Johnson discussed in my previous blog as a starting point. Johnson is dealing with one of two main factors which are blocking a real transformation: Power - the close ties between Wall Street and Federal Institutions. Scharmer deals with the other: Paradigm - how our thinking based on conventional economic thought is preventing us from asking some tough questions that could help us to identify the root issues of the economic crisis, how it is connected to the need for global transformation and how we can shape it in a more intentional way. His ideas can be found in his paper "Seven Acupuncture Points for Shifting Capitalism" which explores the underlying system of thought that has led to the current crisis and proposes ideas for a green, inclusive and intentional ecosystem economy.
In the first part of the paper Scharmer points out the evolutionary stages of capitalism based on the notion of capitalism 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 that Peter Barnes suggested in his book "Capitalism 3.0" from 2006 and the works of the British historian Arnold Toybee. Scharmer comes up with the following:
|
Stages of Economic Evolution |
Challenge |
Response: Primary coordination mechanism |
Dominant Sector/Player |
New Primary Source of Power |
|
17th-18th Centuries: Pre Capitalist. Mercantilistic/state-driven |
Stability |
Regulation / hierarchy |
State/government |
Sticks |
|
18th-19th Centuries: Capitalism 1.0. Capital/Shareholder-driven |
Growth |
Market / competition |
State/government; Capital/business |
Carrots |
|
19th-20th Centuries: Capitalism 2.0. Stakeholder interest-driven |
Externalities |
Negotiation / dialogue |
State/government; Capital/business; Civil Society/NGO |
Norms |
|
21st Century: Capitalism 3.0. Shared ecosystem-awareness-driven |
Global Externalities |
Collective action arising from shared awareness and common will |
State/government; Capital/business; Civil Society/NGO; Cross-sector communities of creation |
Actions that arise from presencing the emerging whole |
This is the guideline what we should aim at, transform the current forms of Capitalism into Capitalism 3.0. Then Scharmer points out "Seven Acupuncture Points" which for him are practical leverage points that could shift the system from 2.0 to 3.0. The term emphasizes that the transformation requires a set of interrelated system interventions, no. 6 being related to Leadership: To reinvent leadership learning in order to facilitate "learning from the future as it emerges" rather than replicating the knowledge of the past. (please refer to Theory U for explanation of the wording). One essence for him is to move from the ideological either- or debate to a pragmatic both- and integration as part of an upgrade to 3.0.
These ideas are some of the most appealing I have heard about for some time and it nicely fits in my current mood of looking at things from an evolutionary stages standpoint and builds on my previous entries. In the context of Spiral Dynamics Scharmer shows a way how to move up the spiral.
Posted at
09:47PM Nov 01, 2009
by Volker Seubert in Personal |
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