Sally Lerner wrote,
>Why not start our new FW year (Year 4) by posting to FW your thoughts on
>what will be the single most important issue related to the future of work
>during 1998-1999 -- and your ideas on how that issue should be addressed.
I'll go out on a limb and say that the single most important issue will be
the date on the calendar. Some time ago, it became fashionable to use the
decade as a metaphor for preoccupying social phenomena that were otherwise
hard to specify. In this century, there were four decades that stand out in
this way the 20s, 30s, 50s and the 60s. A similar practice has long
prevailed of attributing a defining characteristic to centuries.
The turn of the millennium will be an occasion for reflection on the meaning
of "progress" and "modernity", the terms that IMHO are most distinctive of
the current 1000 year period. We on futurework have been part of the run-up
to what is going to become a profound and far-reaching social conversation.
I'll go further out on the limb to say that both progress and modernity
could be positive ideas if, and only if, they are pursued with humility and
moderation. The practice, however, has too often been to uphold progress and
modernity as absolute ideals, which has also had the effect of defining the
content of progress as that which serves the narrow self interest of the
advocate of progress. Thus the 1950s GE slogan (from the days when Ronald
Reagan was host of their weekly television drama series) "Progress is our
most important product" and its 1990s translation, "Profit is our most
important progress".
Regards,
Tom Walker
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