Fourth Revolution Manifesto Part6 - Four Institutions That Will Be Deeply Transformed

Jeremie Averous
The Fourth
Revolution
Manifesto
- Part VI -
Four Institutions that
will be deeply
transformed
Version 1 – Dec 2010 © Jeremie Averous, 2010

The Fourth Revolution is a
one-in-a-century’s opportunity.
What about becoming part of the new elite?
A Revolution is an opportunity: to become part of the new Jérémie Avérous is a senior executive, trainer,
social leadership. This manifesto contains invaluable certified coach. He likes to describe himself as a
advice and direction as to the behaviors and skills to
K.E.E.N, a Knowledge Enhancer Exchanging
succeed and thrive through the world’s transformation.
Networker, the typical member of the new
The Fourth Revolution is one of the few moments in international nomadic community.
humankind history where our world understanding and
our society are completely redefined.
The Fourth Revolution has already ignited.
The manifesto explains the deep causes of the current
changes of the world. What can we do to grasp the
opportunity and build the world we want ?
Contribute to build our world

Connect and participate on
www.thefourthrevolution.org
The Fourth Revolution manifesto
© Jeremie Averous, 2010 2
The Fourth Revolution Manifesto
Reference
To make it easier for online consultation and download, the
Fourth Revolution Manifesto has been split in 8 parts
Part I A short history of humankind – 100,000 years in 3 Revolutions
Part II Cheap long distance interactive communication is new and transforms our collective
cognitive capability
Part III The Collaborative Age value system: how the collective cognitive capability of
humankind is again transformed
Part IV Four precursors of the Fourth Revolution – events and discoveries at odds with the
Industrial Age model in the 20th century
Part V The Organization Revolution: from efficiency- management to effectiveness-
leadership
Part VI Four institutions that will be deeply transformed
Part VII Four keys to success in the Collaborative Age: new insights, practices and skills
Part VIII Your Choice. And why YOU are important for the Fourth Revolution.
The Fourth Revolution manifesto - part VI

© Jeremie Averous, 2010 Visit www.thefourthrevolution.org 3
The Fourth Revolution Manifesto
Part VI - Contents
Part VI- Four key institutions that will be deeply

transformed Page
Introduction – How institutions can be normal in one Age and
become unethical and loathed in another. 5
Manufacturing will become subsidized 14
Representative democracy and government role will be reinvented 18
Education will transform fundamentally 24
Intellectual property concept will be shaken 33
Conclusion – towards the Fourth Revolution 47

Introduction
How institutions can

be normal in one Age
and become unethical
and loathed in another
© Jeremie Averous, 2010

Institutions are shaped by their
environment
Like organizations, institutions are shaped by the technological and social

constraints of the time. The type of institutions, their organization
structure, their justification and legitimacy, are shaped by the environment
of the time and space where the institutions operates.
The Institutions of the Industrial Age were

shaped by the forces of the Industrial
Age. As these social forces and
technologies shift deeply, so will
institutions in the Collaborative Age.
This part of the Fourth Revolution manifesto

presents the fundamental dynamics of
change for the institutions that shape our
society.
The institution of slavery
How do we consider slavery today?

A few words come immediately
to mind:
– Unethical
– Contrary to human’s basic
rights
– Scandalous
– Etc…

Well,… Slavery was a perfectly normal institution in the Agricultural Age.

Why? Because economically, there was an overpopulation and those at the
bottom of the ladder could just be employed for their food and clothing.
All civilization of the Agricultural Age have more than 20% of the population
in some form of slavery, sometimes much more.

Slavery is not useful any more

in the Industrial Age.
Why? Because manufacturing requires people
trained in basic skills… and consumers for
the manufactured materials!
It is thus not astonishing that slavery was

banned with the Industrial Revolution
– France, 1794 – UK, 1804
Abolitionist illustration
London, 1788

Slavery is a salient example of a

perfectly normal and useful
institution in a previous Age
which becomes useless in the
new Age. In the new Age it even
becomes unethical and loathed.
Then…what are the institutions of

the Industrial Age which we
consider normal and useful and
which will become unethical and
loathed in the Collaborative Age?

Some institutions that still survive (barely)
from the Agricultural Age
Other institutions of a previous Age are not directly rejected and destroyed,
they just become part of the landscape without real usefulness. Some
examples…
Minarets and steeples giving time

Royalty (not very useful since the invention of the
personal watch)
Institutions are shaped by their
environment
In the Collaborative Age, the wind is blowing strongly from quite another
direction.
Which are the institutions that we take for granted today will be fundamentally
changed?
As we’ll find, several key institutions defining

our societies will have to transform
fundamentally…

4 institutions deeply transformed by the
Fourth Revolution
• Manufacturing will become

subsidized
• Representative democracy and
government role will be
reinvented
• Education will transform
fundamentally
• Intellectual property concept will
be shaken

A first
Institution that
will be
transformed
Manufacturing will
become subsidized

1- Manufacturing will become subsidized
In the Industrial Age, Agriculture has to be subsidized. Since the 1930’s

Agriculture has to be subsidized in developed countries to ensure
enough agricultural production and a decent revenue for farmers.
This is because the value created

by Industry became so huge
(relatively) that without
subsidies, nobody would be
interested to be a farmer.
Alas, we still need food to

survive.

Without subsidies, farming would not be a

worthwhile occupation.
With subsidies, it is possible to be a farmer and
get a revenue equivalent to a basic worker
Famous pictures from the Dust Bowl, 1930’s, USA. This event
prompted the start of subsidies to Agriculture in the USA.

Along the same logic, in the Collaborative Age, Manufacturing will become
subsidized as well.
This is because the value created by Collaboration will become so huge
(relatively) that without subsidies, nobody would be interested to be in
manufacturing.
Alas, we still need manufactured goods to live and survive.
It is not time yet for a systematical subsidy but the stickers below give a
flavor. The bankruptcy of GM might become the official date of the end
of the Industrial Age.

A second
Institution that
will be
transformed
Representative
democracy and
government role will
be reinvented

2- Government role will change
Private companies can now do a lot of what only governments could do in

the Industrial Age…

In the Industrial Age, Governments had the monopoly of, and the best
information management systems and managed long distance
communication, because it was so expensive to maintain and operate.

What is then the legitimacy of government in the Collaborative Age? Certainly

not any more information management, monopoly of services, etc, but:
§Regulation
§Social redistribution
§Territory (physical and virtual space) management
Government will shrink and

concentrate on new core functions
Democracy experiments prior to Broadcasting were direct democracies

Their range was physically limited (eg Athens).
Broadcasting allowed
‘Representative democracy’
spanning over an entire country

Long distance collaboration will change deeply our democratic

institutions. Our current institutions are shaped by Broadcasting and
the limits in long distance communication. Constituencies are typical
consequences of the need to minimize distance between voters and
representative.
Tomorrow we’ll vote through internet. Polls and referendums will multiply.

A third
Institution that
will be
transformed
Education will
transform
fundamentally

3- Education will transform fundamentally
Compulsory public education was created by the Industrial Age (1870’s).

It’s not just because it was a noble cause now made possible by the wealth
of society.
It is because
public education
is needed for a
manufacturing
society!

Compulsory public education was necessary to provide enough workers for the
factories
Workers were
required to know
basic:
•Literacy
•Counting
•Discipline

In the Industrial Age, processing power was very, very scarce
Remember that man was sent on the moon

on devices calculated manually with
sliding rulers!
1920’s
IQ
To maximize available processing power for society,
Industrial Age education is fundamentally organized
around processing capability, or:

In the Industrial Age, the diploma you get when you are 20 years old
determines your life. Here is an example of a prestigious French public
School for engineers and scientists, the Ecole Polytechnique – founded
1794 for the Industrial Age. The Republic needed mathematicians and
engineers!
In France, when you have

attended the school,
people notice even if
you are 50 or 60.
The motto of the school is very revealing:

For the country,
science ,
and glory
Times are changing… A diploma is not any more the key to an

uneventful career until retirement in a Corporation.

In the Collaborative Age,
– Careers are not linear any more, several careers are common,
– Education is lifelong, not just before 20 or 25,
– EQ is more important than processing capability (IQ).
Education will have to

transform fundamentally.

One more thought
A profession … is an institution by itself !
Often diplomas give the right to enter a profession.
A profession is an institution. Once created it will fight for survival… even if
it is not needed any more. And any profession will try to increase its
scarcity by making barriers to entry higher, and if possible, legal.

A fourth
Institution that
will be
transformed
Intellectual property
concept will be shaken

4- Intellectual property will be shaken
Intellectual property was invented in the Industrial Age
Principle of intellectual property:
• Foster invention and creation by

giving to the inventor exclusive
rights to exploit his invention over a
certain duration
• In exchange, publish the details of

the invention

Intellectual property regime is NOT adapted to breakthrough inventions
Example:
The gasoline
automobile
Invented by
Benz – 1883
Patented 1885 in
Germany

Issue with breakthrough inventions
In the US, Mr Selden

patents in 1895:
The gasoline
automobile !

Mr Selden does not really produce cars, but

instead organizes the Association of
Licensed Automobile Manufacturers.
You want to produce

an automobile?
Pay a fee per car to
ALAM!

Ford wants to produce affordable cars.

ALAM decides against it.
He decides to fight ALAM

It took Ford 10 years of litigation to win.
Ford did invent how to build cheap

automobiles through mass production and
revolutionized industry and society.
What is less known is that he had to fight

relentlessly a patent used only for the sake of
money to achieve this useful deed for society.
When it comes to breakthrough

inventions, patents can go against
society’s interests
New York Times, January 1911

Copyright is an invention of the Industrial Age
It is related to broadcasting…
… and benefits to
broadcasting intermediaries

Today, the value to the creator is not in the copyright and royalties
– 90%+ of the value goes to the broadcaster

Today the value to the creator is not in the copyright and royalties. Some
musicians like the Grateful Dead give their music away for free.
The value is in personal

contact with his tribe…
The emotional
connection…
…Derived products…

Today the value is in emotional connection

Collaborative Age tools lead directly to the removal of broadcasting

intermediation. Anybody can publish to the world today. For free.
There is no more need, as intellectual property does, to

artificially modify market rules to promote creation

Because Value is created by:

• Direct, emotional connection
• Creation of a tribe
• Continuous creation
Or, to summarize, by the development and

management of a
GLOBAL BRAND
Intellectual property will be transformed
fundamentally

Conclusion
The world beyond the

Fourth Revolution
A transformation

The world beyond the Fourth Revolution.
A deep transformation
Beyond the Fourth Revolution, the

Collaborative Age, our world will
have been deeply transformed.
Institutions will have changed in depth,

shaking the world references we
take for granted.
Our mindset will have changed deeply.
The world beyond the

Fourth Revolution will be
fundamentally different
The Fourth Revolution has ignited.
What does it mean?
In part VII and VIII of the Manifesto we will look
in more detail about what the Fourth
Revolution means to YOU.
Habits, values will change dramatically to be

successful in the Collaborative Age. What
should you do? What can you do?
This is the subject of the last two parts of the

Manifesto.
Read part VII of the Manifesto:

Four keys to success in the Collaborative Age. New
insights, practices and skills
To be
continued…
Read part VII-

Four Keys
to success in the
Collaborative Age

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Jeremie Averous

Version 1 – Dec 2010 © Jeremie Averous, 2010

Contribute to build our world

The Fourth Revolution manifesto - part VI

Part VI- Four key institutions that will be deeply

Manufacturing will become subsidized 14

Representative democracy and government role will be reinvented 18

Education will transform fundamentally 24

Intellectual property concept will be shaken 33

Conclusion – towards the Fourth Revolution 47

The Fourth Revolution manifesto - part VI

How institutions can

© Jeremie Averous, 2010

Like organizations, institutions are shaped by the technological and social

The Institutions of the Industrial Age were

This part of the Fourth Revolution manifesto

How do we consider slavery today?

The Fourth Revolution manifesto - part VI

Well,… Slavery was a perfectly normal institution in the Agricultural Age.

The Fourth Revolution manifesto - part VI

Slavery is not useful any more

It is thus not astonishing that slavery was

The Fourth Revolution manifesto - part VI

Slavery is a salient example of a

Then…what are the institutions of

The Fourth Revolution manifesto - part VI

Minarets and steeples giving time

As we’ll find, several key institutions defining

The Fourth Revolution manifesto - part VI

• Manufacturing will become

The Fourth Revolution manifesto - part VI

© Jeremie Averous, 2010

In the Industrial Age, Agriculture has to be subsidized. Since the 1930’s

This is because the value created

Alas, we still need food to

The Fourth Revolution manifesto - part VI

Without subsidies, farming would not be a

The Fourth Revolution manifesto - part VI

The Fourth Revolution manifesto - part VI

© Jeremie Averous, 2010

Private companies can now do a lot of what only governments could do in

The Fourth Revolution manifesto - part VI

The Fourth Revolution manifesto - part VI

What is then the legitimacy of government in the Collaborative Age? Certainly

§Territory (physical and virtual space) management

Government will shrink and

Democracy experiments prior to Broadcasting were direct democracies

spanning over an entire country

The Fourth Revolution manifesto - part VI

Long distance collaboration will change deeply our democratic

The Fourth Revolution manifesto - part VI

© Jeremie Averous, 2010

Compulsory public education was created by the Industrial Age (1870’s).

The Fourth Revolution manifesto - part VI

The Fourth Revolution manifesto - part VI

In the Industrial Age, processing power was very, very scarce

Remember that man was sent on the moon

The Fourth Revolution manifesto - part VI

In France, when you have

The motto of the school is very revealing:

Times are changing… A diploma is not any more the key to an

The Fourth Revolution manifesto - part VI

In the Collaborative Age,