173. Talentism vs Capitalism
The Age of Talentism officially started on September 11, 2001 when two huge airplanes carrying innocent passengers crashed into the World Trade Center.
The state-of-the-art aircraft technology, as well as the high-grade fuel and the sophisticated information technologies regulating and negotiating the air passageways, were all mere tools in the hands of a few talented terrorists.
Although I'm totally opposed to Al Qaeda and what they try to do, I also see the irreversible shift of power from technology to talent. Talent, in this case, happened to be evil and, frankly, quite cowardly. What kind of warriors -- holy or not -- would kill peaceful men and women who are just showing up at the office to do their day's work?
But let's get back to talentism.
It's the idea, perhaps one day it will become a formal system, that talent trumps technology. Whereas technology is the chief wealth-creation instruments of shareholders on the NASDAQ or other stock exchanges, talent is the chief wealth-creation instrument of individuals.
Shareholders have a problem with that, of course, because they cannot own individuals. That would be slavery, and we all know slavery has been abolished a long time ago.
But what does all this mean for you?
It means, perhaps, that during this shift of power from technology to talent, most people will be confused as to what to do to ensure job and economic security. A few talented individuals will know exactly what to do, in order to leverage technologies in their favor.
Eventually, we will see the rise of sovereign talents (professionals who are so skilled and so much in demand that they (or rather their agents) dictate the precise terms of employment.
On the other hand, the majority of people will still remain "labour", trapped by the socioeconomic prisons set up by capitalists. These are the people who are forced to work for a company till retirement.
It is quite simple: people today have to choose between focusing on developing their unique talent or just doing what the job requires. Focusing on and relentlessly developing their talent can help them achieve economic security without depending on any ONE employer. Of course, this path is hard. (This is why I created with my sister an organization to help women's career advancement: www.talentelle.com)
I predict most people would rather go for a job, in other words, they would gently ignore their real talent and try as best they can to become hard-working, obedient, conforming corporate employees. This is the easier path in the short-term but as capitalism becomes more and more "talentism" (an economic system where talent creates value and technology is only used to deliver value), these people will be at risk.
This is not to say that being a corporate employee is not good. In fact, a person can learn a great deal from how corporations operate. I did precisely that during the 1990s. There are few secrets from corporations (manufacturing, consulting, training, computer services, etc.) that I don't know. They operate like well-oiled and ruthless machines.
My point is simply that the global economy is changing, and people who have unique talents will be handsomely rewarded. There will be no limits to how much they can earn (read The Sovereign Individual, by James Davidson, for more details). This, obviously, cannot be the case for employees, since keeping salaries fixed is the only way that capitalists (business owners) can increase their profit rate over time.
The state-of-the-art aircraft technology, as well as the high-grade fuel and the sophisticated information technologies regulating and negotiating the air passageways, were all mere tools in the hands of a few talented terrorists.
Although I'm totally opposed to Al Qaeda and what they try to do, I also see the irreversible shift of power from technology to talent. Talent, in this case, happened to be evil and, frankly, quite cowardly. What kind of warriors -- holy or not -- would kill peaceful men and women who are just showing up at the office to do their day's work?
But let's get back to talentism.
It's the idea, perhaps one day it will become a formal system, that talent trumps technology. Whereas technology is the chief wealth-creation instruments of shareholders on the NASDAQ or other stock exchanges, talent is the chief wealth-creation instrument of individuals.
Shareholders have a problem with that, of course, because they cannot own individuals. That would be slavery, and we all know slavery has been abolished a long time ago.
But what does all this mean for you?
It means, perhaps, that during this shift of power from technology to talent, most people will be confused as to what to do to ensure job and economic security. A few talented individuals will know exactly what to do, in order to leverage technologies in their favor.
Eventually, we will see the rise of sovereign talents (professionals who are so skilled and so much in demand that they (or rather their agents) dictate the precise terms of employment.
On the other hand, the majority of people will still remain "labour", trapped by the socioeconomic prisons set up by capitalists. These are the people who are forced to work for a company till retirement.
It is quite simple: people today have to choose between focusing on developing their unique talent or just doing what the job requires. Focusing on and relentlessly developing their talent can help them achieve economic security without depending on any ONE employer. Of course, this path is hard. (This is why I created with my sister an organization to help women's career advancement: www.talentelle.com)
I predict most people would rather go for a job, in other words, they would gently ignore their real talent and try as best they can to become hard-working, obedient, conforming corporate employees. This is the easier path in the short-term but as capitalism becomes more and more "talentism" (an economic system where talent creates value and technology is only used to deliver value), these people will be at risk.
This is not to say that being a corporate employee is not good. In fact, a person can learn a great deal from how corporations operate. I did precisely that during the 1990s. There are few secrets from corporations (manufacturing, consulting, training, computer services, etc.) that I don't know. They operate like well-oiled and ruthless machines.
My point is simply that the global economy is changing, and people who have unique talents will be handsomely rewarded. There will be no limits to how much they can earn (read The Sovereign Individual, by James Davidson, for more details). This, obviously, cannot be the case for employees, since keeping salaries fixed is the only way that capitalists (business owners) can increase their profit rate over time.
posted by Super Peter at 3:47 PM
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