From ZOO to NOO: Man, Society and Production in the New Technological Revolution

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ABSTRACT The long-term socio-economic impacts of the imminent technological revolution are expected to give rise to a second-generation of the new industrial society. Technological change poses the threat of crises due to the pursuit of superficial benefits, excessive pressure on the natural environment, uncontrollable trends in the evolution of the technosphere, and potentially, unjustified interference with human nature. This raises the question of making the transition from a zoological drive aimed at the consumption of increasing amounts of material resources, to a rational self-restraint regarding both human needs and the application of new technologies. This transition can potentially enhance the satisfaction of human needs while simultaneously reducing pressure on the natural environment. However, there must be a shift in people’s motivation. This involves moving away from the pursuit of material goods and from the satisfaction of false needs inflated by a market-driven economic rationality. Instead, there must be a transition to a non-economic mode of production known as Noonomy. If this path is followed, it will become possible to address the pressing issues of development—both of civilization and of the individual—and to mitigate social conflicts through an objectively increased socialization of society based on the ideological foundation of solidarism.