To Save Capitalism, Save Communities
As the powers of the state and the market have expanded, we’ve neglected the damage being done to the third pillar of society.
Fractured communities are susceptible to nationalist appeals.
Photographer: Jeff Swensen/Getty Images
Every past technological revolution has been disruptive, prompted a societal reaction, and eventually resulted in broader change that helped us get the best out of the technology. In the ongoing information technology revolution, however, the need for people to adapt has come rapidly, before the benefits have had time to spread. And the communities that must adapt the most are those that have experienced the greatest adversity and have the least resources to cope.
There are fundamentally three pillars that support society: the state, markets and the community. We spend a lot of time debating the first two, but it is the neglected third pillar, the community, that needs more consideration today. The state and markets have expanded their powers and their reach in tandem, and left the community relatively powerless to face the full and uneven brunt of technological change. The solutions to many of our problems are to be found in bringing dysfunctional communities back to health, for healthy communities, working through democracy, make capitalism both attractive and sustainable.