Over the holiday, I’ve had the opportunity to catch up on my reading and one book stands out, The Great Reset, a look at how new ways of living and working drive post-crash prosperity, by Richard Florida.
Florida focuses on how in history, economic downturns such as the Great Depression of the 1930s and the Long Depression of the nineteenth century helped remake our economy and society. It is clear that what we are experiencing now is not just a cycle, but a clear game changer!
Here are a few concepts that stuck out:
– People define themselves through their consumption habits and the trend will turn towards consuming less. Lack of smart consumption and environmentally correct consumption will replace conspicuous consumption. Which I welcome!
– The new economy will revolve around mobility and flexibility and what George W. Bush called “the ownership society” will not fit the new way of life. Owning homes, cars, and signing long term leases for your workspace will be seen more of a burden than a benefit.
– The “new normal,” people will not spend as freely. Americans are scaling back, reducing the use of credit, downshifting, trading bigger for smaller and they are energy aware. They are doing this in all aspects of their lives.
(I love this part)
– “When people cease to find meaningful work, when work becomes boring, alienating, and dehumanizing, the only option becomes the urge to consume and buy happiness off the shelf, a phenomenon we now know cannot suffice in the long term. If there is indeed a blessing in disguise with this crisis let it be that we refocus our energy toward enabling people to do work that gives their life real meaning.”
I think the new generation is already moving this way.
