The "4-STEP" FUTURE
Massive forces of global change constantly re-invent the world and our lives. These trends can be categorized as a 4-STEP process that is social, technical, economic, and political (STEP) in nature.
Step 1: Social Motivation
All change is initiated by us. The overriding behavior of ordinary people — our needs, our aspirations, our values and beliefs, and our ideas — are what change the world. Little improves in the world unless you and I decide to change things. And as each new generation brings fresh ideas and values to bear, society literally regenerates itself. As new ideas catch on, they travel like wildfire — especially now with the Internet — changing the aspirations of a wider population. And so the cycle of change repeats. More than anything, the Webolution (Internet Revolution) is driven by the natural human need for social interaction and communication as we embrace the Web Lifestyle.
Step 2: Technical Innovation
Fresh ideas spur research and development that constantly push back the frontiers of science to spawn further advances. Technology thus also regenerates itself and we tend to talk of new generations of technology, with new versions making earlier ones obsolete. The more efficient and productive a new technology, the greater are the economic and social benefits for us all to enjoy. All the wealth ever created has come from better efficiency and productivity. So we need to adopt the latest and most powerful technologies, both to boost the economy and to enhance national and personal security. And today, that means embracing the Web Lifestyle.
Step 3: Economic Modernization
The third stage is the effective use of technology to restructure and modernize our socio-economic infrastructure. This is achieved by marshalling the planet’s resources and managing the environment, while orchestrating the production and distribution of wealth on a long-term sustainable basis. And it is perfectly natural that commerce will gravitate online as major segments of the global population adopt a Web Lifestyle — working, shopping, banking, and running businesses from home.
Step 4: Political Reformation
Finally, to ensure we benefit from these changes, the political process must rise to a higher level of human aspiration. If not, history shows that people will be unhappy and will rebel. Hence, political processes and governments inevitably get reformed — preferably by consensus. Sadly, politicians usually are the last to "get the message." They literally “spin” themselves dizzy struggling to explain their past inactivity that they are unable to offer even a blurred vision of the future. Faced with global terrorism, our freedom and democracy are under attack. And how we practice democracy is out of sync with the new world. To win the battle for freedom, we must move quickly to a system of electronic democracy from home — which the Web Lifestyle makes possible.
To see how these 4-STEP trends are shaking up the kaleidoscope of life, we need to see the "big picture." If you mentally “go into orbit” you can see the new pattern of life and commerce unfolding on Earth. By seeing "the world in motion" and thinking futuristically, we can literally see the Web Lifestyle unfolding before our eyes. |
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