Achievements and Consequences of the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Abstract

The article deals with effects of achievements and consequences of the fourth industrial revolution. The author shows history of agrarian and industrial revolutions and demonstrates specific features of the 4 th industrial revolution in comparison with the previous ones, reveals preconditions of its arising and scales of the revolution reforms and discusses its outcomes and consequences affecting all fields of society life. The 4 th industrial revolution drastically changes the world and provides unlimited opportunities for the development of states, companies and individuals. However, consequences of introducing its achievements look dubious: they can cause both a drop in prices on goods and services, a growth in consumption, mobility and information degree of people, a reduction in costs and increase in labour productivity in commercial enterprises and state-owned structures and a cut in personnel demand, falling incomes, social guarantees and deterioration of working conditions, a drop in social programs, rising inequality, withdrawal of capital to off-shore zones, growing credit burden of the population, companies and states and the general decrease in economic growth rate. It leads to the necessity to develop state programs aimed at control over the development of the 4 th industrial revolution, support of innovation enterprises, cut in taxes, reduction in uncertainty in economy and rise in legal support of business, as well as elimination of destructive effects of digitalization in economy and protection of the poorest layer of the population.