How did we do that? The possibility of Rapid Transition, by Andrew Simms and Peter Newell, STEPS Centre & New Weather Institute, 2017 shows what we can learn about rapid change through examples from history and the present day. The publication comes at a time of great uncertainty about the shape of liberal democracy in Europe and North America – with potential repercussions for other parts of the world too.

From when modern day volcanoes ground international airlines, to the New Deal in 1930s America and today’s renewable energy revolution, How did we do that? collects stories of rapid transitions and different kinds of transformations to show what we can learn from history and the present day about how people adapt to rapid change, often in the face of crisis and difficulty.

The booklet follow a series of Transformations events during 2016 and 2017, organised by the New Weather Institute and the STEPS Centre. The events looked at different examples of transition and transformations around the world – from economic, cultural and financial transitions, to the radical transformation of many people’s lives by digital technology.

The authors of the new booklet argue that although radical change is needed, it faces key obstacles. Much of human society is locked into a high-consumption culture, energy-intensive infrastructure, unequal power relations, and an economic system dominated by finance that fails the poorest and takes infinite growth for granted.

Other barriers are more in people’s mindsets and attitudes towards change. Opponents of radical change argue that it is impossible because of powerful incumbent interests, high costs, the lack of a detailed blueprint, or the unwillingness of governments or citizens to act. Others pin their hopes on a smart, technological fix to environmental problems.

Despite these barriers, there are examples of change that might give us hope. History is full of examples of rapid transition in the face of new challenges. Society shows a brilliantly adaptive ability to change and still meet its needs.

The examples in the book suggest that these barriers can be, and have been, overcome in the past through grassroots movements, through leadership from governments, or a combination of the two.

Not all of the transitions and transformations we studied have been positive for everyone, or been carried out in a democratic or fair manner. And others have taken place at times of great stress – during war, or severe economic crisis – where rapid and radical changes were easier to implement or force through.

In this video playlist, we asked speakers to share their views on rapid transitions, including Caroline Lucas, Rob Hopkins, Richard Murphy, Andrew Simms, Andy Stirling, Pete Newell, Paul Allen and Molly Conisbee.

What can we learn from transitions and transformations?

Some of the lessons drawn from the book include:

• Fairness matters: to be accepted, rapid change must be seen to be fair. This is especially true if and where there is any perceived sacrifice to be made for the greater good.

• We’re actually good at change: New social norms can quickly take root in everything from working patterns, to transport use, attitudes surrounding prejudice, and patterns of consumption.

• Public leadership is needed: Initial public investment in a sector or activity can leverage larger levels of investment from other sources.

• There’s no one path: Rapid transitions can result from bottom up and top down approaches, but ensuring that top down approaches are equitable and inclusive is a key challenge.

• Inaction costs: It matters always to be clear about both the costs of inaction and the benefits of action.

• Pleasant surprises do happen: Change always brings with it unplanned and unexpected consequences – but it can also bring unintended benefits.

Download the booklet (PDF, 1 MB)

This booklet is part of an ongoing conversation about transitions and transformations in the UK and beyond. At Monday’s event, we’re hoping to start a discussion about what to do next. Where does the energy lie? How can activists, researchers and citizens learn from each other to create transitions that work for people and the planet?

Some examples in the booklet include:

• The Eyjafjallajökull volcano eruption in Iceland in 2010, halted northern European air travel overnight. Despite losing a transport link thought indispensable, businesses and individuals adapted almost immediately.

• In Kurdish Rojava, at the heart of the Syrian conflict, experiments with direct democracy on feminist and ecological principles show that citizens can work together even in the face of violence and economic collapse.

• In response to an earlier failure of private banks, the New Deal in 1930s America invested an amount similar to that thought needed for low carbon transition today to public relief and federal works programmes. The New Deal saw a general drop in income inequality, an improvement in gender equality, a major programme of new public housing and significant environmental works.

• Dramatic changes have occurred within a short space of time in renewable energy capacity in countries from Costa Rica to Denmark and in food systems in Cuba.

About the Transformations series

When in the past have societies made rapid transitions, and what were the circumstances that drove them? What can we learn from these times, positively and negatively to enable the transition we need to make today in the face of climatic upheaval and fossil fuel dependence?

The Transformations series, co-organised by the New Weather Institute and the STEPS Centre, aim to change the conversation about transition in the UK. Through informed public discussion and engagement we will gather opinions, capture outcomes and stimulate debate about how to facilitate the speed and scale of the transition.

See the Transformations event series page for more details.

Photo by Victoria Stothard Gallery

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“Fundamental leaps in technology, demographics, and economics are driving a once-a-century shift in how, when, where, and why we work. The book offers a view from trenches of this shift from co-founders of NextSpace, a pioneering chain of coworking spaces known for building community among indy workers.”

* Book: Ryan Coonerty and Jeremy Neuner. The Rise of the Naked Economy. Palgrave Macmillan, 2013

Excerpted from an interview of co-author Jeremy Neuner by Beth Buczynski for Shareable:

• Shareable: Not so long ago, it was considered risky, even a little bit crazy to abandon a traditional job for the freelance life. Now, your book suggests 40 percent of the workforce will be “fractional” or “disaggregated” by the end of the decade. What’s changed?

JN: That’s right: for a long time, there was a stigma around freelancing. Too often, our society viewed freelancers as people who couldn’t get “real jobs”. The biggest change is that technology—the means of production in the information and innovation economy—is now in the hands of individuals instead of companies.

As a freelancer, independent consultant, or entrepreneur, a couple thousand dollars gets me a laptop, a mobile phone, and a range of inexpensive (and increasingly free) software tools.

Social technologies allow me to tap into people, ideas, and markets across town or across the world. And a strengthening of the ethos of access-not-ownership means that I can get access to a wider range of tools and technologies. Putting the means of production back into the hands of individuals is really revolutionary.

You don’t have to be an economic analyst to realize that the American workforce has changed dramatically over the past few years. Make that the global workforce.

Our parents finished school, then spent the next 30 years at the same company. Job security, health insurance, a pension, and a gold watch at retirement were expected rewards for long-term loyalty. Happiness and personal satisfaction rarely figured into the mix, if ever.

Thanks to wireless technologies, a new net-savvy generation coming up, and a shift in cultural values, this cubicle-bound style of work is going the way of the dodo, and not a moment too soon.

“The rules of work have changed,” write Ryan Coonerty and Jeremy Neuner in their new book, The Rise of the Naked Economy. “Fundamental leaps in technology, demographics, and economics are driving a once-a-century shift in how, when, where, and why we work.”

Their book offers a view from trenches of this shift as they are co-founders of NextSpace, a pioneering chain of coworking spaces known for building community among indy workers. We recently caught up with Neuner to find out more about the book and the decidedly-positive trends reintroducing flexibility, collaboration, and a wee bit of nakedness back into the workforce.

Shareable: Not so long ago, it was considered risky, even a little bit crazy to abandon a traditional job for the freelance life. Now, your book suggests 40 percent of the workforce will be “fractional” or “disaggregated” by the end of the decade. What’s changed?

JN: That’s right: for a long time, there was a stigma around freelancing. Too often, our society viewed freelancers as people who couldn’t get “real jobs”. The biggest change is that technology—the means of production in the information and innovation economy—is now in the hands of individuals instead of companies.

As a freelancer, independent consultant, or entrepreneur, a couple thousand dollars gets me a laptop, a mobile phone, and a range of inexpensive (and increasingly free) software tools.

Social technologies allow me to tap into people, ideas, and markets across town or across the world. And a strengthening of the ethos of access-not-ownership means that I can get access to a wider range of tools and technologies. Putting the means of production back into the hands of individuals is really revolutionary.

Shareable: In the book, you compare the Naked Economy to the agricultural and industrial revolutions of generations past. What are the similarities and differences between what’s happening now and these major events in human history?

JN: These past revolutions completely changed how, where, and why we work. The Naked Economy will do the same thing. And, just like the economic revolutions of the past, the rise of the Naked Economy will have all sorts of ripple effects throughout the rest of the our society. We’ll see changes in where we live, how we educate our kids, how we get around, and what we ultimately value in our lives. So it will be a big shift!

Like any major shift, there will be downsides and unintended consequences. The industrial revolution definitely had lots of those. Fortunately, we’re early in the shift, so there’s time to recognize and plan for some of these consequences. We hope our book serves as a conversation-starter for workers, companies, and governments.

• Shareable: Lots of people claim social technologies are replacing face-to-face interaction, and soon we won’t know how to communicate without a screen between us. Yet in the book, you say that the Naked Economy uses technology to help people “rediscover and reclaim some of their fundamental humanity.” How?

JN: We’re big fans of social technologies. As I mentioned above, these technologies are a big reason why freelancers can now operate in the global marketplace. And social technologies allow for the free flow of ideas at a rate never seen before. That’s generally good news for an innovation-based economy. At the same time, people are realizing that just because you’re my friend on Facebook doesn’t mean you’re actually my friend! So people are hungry for real, live, genuine human community. That need is hard-wired in our brains. The need to slog through the morning/evening commutes and languish in a cubicle is definitely NOT hard-wired in our brains.

The Naked Economy allows us to connect to the rest of the world, but it also affords us the chance to become deeply invested in our local communities. By abandoning the 9-5 grind and working on our own terms, people have the opportunity to meet their neighbors, coach their kid’s soccer team, attend a city council meeting, or volunteer in their communities. We need to re-build the tight-knit social fabric that holds our society together and the Naked Economy will allow us to do that.

• Shareable: You mention that new infrastructure, new strategies and policies, are needed to support this revolution. What policy changes are needed most, and how do we help put them in place?

JN: Bazillions of pages have been written about reforming healthcare policy, tax policy, and retirement policy. For the past 50-75 years, our employers have handled these critical aspects of our social framework. But by 2020, 60 million Americans won’t have employers. That’s 40% of the workforce! So we need to de-couple our social framework from employment. Make no mistake, this is a very tall order. But if we don’t start thinking about a new social and economic framework that works for these 60 million people, we’re going to be in big trouble. Even people with “real jobs” change employers every three to five years. So we might start by improving the portability of healthcare and retirement benefits as workers move from job to job and gig to gig.”

See the original here:
http://www.shareable.net/blog/5-questions-with-jeremy-neuner-co-author-of-rise-of-the-naked-economy)

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