Where to begin? New economic structures could use a lot more variety, perspective and depth. When it comes to the marketplace, individual perspectives - which can be so interesting and refreshing - tend to be missing as local options. Too many edges have been dulled from all or nothing forms of competition, and political framing.
This particularly holds true, when considerable time use is involved in product formation. In the event that domestic summits become possible, a lot of free association about desirable product formations needs to take place - especially in service based terms. Society seems to be in one of those rare moments when even "muddling through" services possibilities could still prove productive. Why? Because services have been structured by dictates - rather than individual initiatives - for so long.
Most baby boomers remember, how many forms of product were once whatever people wanted them to be. Just the fact the marketplace held intrigue and unexpected diversions, gave people ample reason to step beyond their comfort zones and associate with one another on a regular basis. Some of that earlier civility and trust...argh, the reader gets the point. Once again, populations need to recreate their marketplace so that it include activities people desire to engage in, rather than what is foisted from outside or elsewhere.
Main Streets of the 20th century were especially about retail. Indeed, it's a pity that too many Main Streets of the 21st century have mostly lost the retail they once had. Other than occasional anecdotes re earlier Main Streets, the more recent U.S. economy has mostly been focused on Wall Street. And yet people by their nature still experience life according to what happens locally - even in a digital world. Too many means for local dynamism have either dwindled, or else become "false fronts" of economic vitality.
Why have so many people abandoned even the concept of Main Street? True, much about the economy is now international. Just the same, much of local economic "emptiness" reflects decisions made by local economic actors in conjunction with special interests. What do individuals want most from services that just is not happening? What kind of service environments might be possible that inspire people, rather than being handed to them in terms of appropriate protocol? How might differences between public and private spaces take shape (particularly in walkable terms), and how strong should those definitions be? How to connect the two?
Formal education scarcely hints at the knowledge use projects, which individuals could create. Only think of the non fiction subject offerings of good bookstores, to get an idea. Anyone who appreciates how to books, knows how much potential for applied learning also exists in those pages. Spend an hour or two in high quality bookstores and one can only imagine what could be locally generated: the wealth of knowledge contained within those bookstore walls is scarcely even hinted at within the confines of many classrooms. And who can be expected to take it all in? That's just the point. Education needs to be about reaching for the branches that contain the nuggets of life that call out to the individual.
Challenges can be built into the time use product which individuals offer to one another. To date, existing institutions are making the mistake of assuming that only certain minds are needed to do the "important" work. That's the danger of allowing work and consumption patterns to be completely defined beyond the level of the individual. Should the missing marketplace be abandoned too long, and populations became increasingly polarized, the brains of some portion of the population might start to atrophy. We're still headed in that direction...is that really a good idea? Does it make any sense for centralized control to allow such a thing to happen?
Individuals could - instead - give one another the opportunity to continue growing mind capacity. For one thing, this would likely prove more productive than many might imagine. Anytime that anyone is less bored, they are also more engaged with life. Given the chance to procure matched skills sets with others, many would spend time preparing for compensated work options that are stimulating and meaningful - not the opposite.
Too many have been taught, lectured to and otherwise reasoned with that getting "a life" means "getting real". Supposedly, that includes forgetting about work choices one considers appealing, challenging, or desirable. True, there may not be existing workplaces which are willing to make a place for those efforts on one's part. But that doesn't mean individuals aren't capable of making room for desirable work options among themselves. What is the workplace, if not a vital component of the marketplace itself? Nothing about what product is supposed to represent is written in stone.
Time is the most valuable resource we have, and yet societies have forgotten how to maintain its centrality in economic life. Not only are personal time commitments demanded through strict consumption patterns, but others claim time value in ways that denigrate our own by comparison. When skills of some participants stand out so as to negate time use value on the part of others, anti-markets have in effect been generated. There are few tasks more needed in the present, than to rid the marketplace of these anti-market concepts which destroy aggregate time value and human identity.
When too many individuals do not have economic access, it can also become difficult for monetary policy to keep nations out of recessions. The more that aggregate time use is represented, the more that monetary valuation can be ascribed to other resources and commodities as well. Indeed, without a reliable compensated time use base, entire consumption patterns tend to be left out of the economy.
Monetary policy needs to make room for new economic formations and human initiative. The main thing that is still missing, is the measure and value of time on the part of many individuals. People's lives are on hold until they can once again become a productive part of economic processes. After all, this is the starter mechanism for their own personal and social lives. If anything has become evident in recent years, it is that real recoveries need to be applied, not just talked about and wished for. To be sure, labor in the workplace is not needed in the ways it once was. That means better means of economic engagement need to be found, for which automation has already opened the door.
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