Sep 14, 2017
The concept of social invention clarifies so much in politics that now seems chaotic.
About 100 years ago product invention accelerated to give us products like light bulbs, cars, telegraph and telephone, and airplanes. Now we're hitting a similar inflection point for social invention.
Examples of social invention from the last quarter century include NAFTA and the EU, same-sex marriage, the 401(k), and sharing economy apps like Uber and Airbnb. Social inventions can be even more disruptive than product inventions. For this reason they're a threat. It's no real surprise that such rapid change has triggered reactions like BREXIT and Trump's surprising election.
Listen to learn how social invention has helped to transform the West since 1300, a story of freedom of religion, democracy and the democratization of financial markets. These big three social inventions reveal important lessons on how to navigate this time of rapid social invention and progress in this century. Social invention is as important to progress as technological invention; it's important that we get it right.