Fear is universal. Fear of the unknown is universal. Fear does not know boundaries. Fear alters the behavior of humans. Humans are fearful. Humans are even more fearful when crowded together. And, even more fearful when crowded in physical-world hot-houses and virtual-world real-time based information over exposure. The current crises is really visible when you bounce between Johannesburg, Cape Town, London, Tel-Aviv, Dubai, Melbourne and Sydney in a few months are compare the emotional fear with the “real” numbers. I’ve been doing to much traveling lately.
This [era] is probably the trigger point for a new period in capitalism. The access to information in real-time is the platform that created the ability to innovate and adopt offerings and capabilities much faster than ever before. Our obsessive over-connectedness fuels a sense of being on top of things, that creates safety in trying to understand the unknown. Money (Check this by New Scientist) as a concept is now deeply imbedded in our social make-up and affects us emotionally more than ever.
Size and geographical security, as attributes of stability, are gone now. Having a “large” organization as an employer in some 1st world country does not guarantee anything (for those that believe that guarantees are worth anything). In actual fact it is more dangerous as the emotional stability that comes with believing that growth will continue indefinitely, is partially responsible for getting crowds to believe that there is safety in “numbers”.
In Capitalist World 1.0, the boss decided who got the bonus and what the amount needs to be based on financial performance. But, if your business received a “bailout” from the government and is now owned by the people, the boss has shifted to a new form of controlling body. Basically you do not decide anything, and if you do and it is not liked, the backlash will surely kill you. Look at AIG’s bonus payouts and the outcry it created globally.
Paradigms have shifted; and those who believe that they haven’t, wake up.