Peter Hagedoorn

A plea to think differently in the digital world Peter Hagedoorn

In just a few decades, economy and society have been digitalized. At any time every citizen can be informed of what is happening all over the world and he is "online" 24/7. All this has enormous effects on the way in which societies are functioning. The physical world of everyday life is no longer the decisive entity, but the digital world is actually the world in which the economy flourishes and decisions are made. A digital layer has covered the classical world, connecting everything to everything and creating "short circuits" in the classical way of life. The above makes it clear that digitalization touches societies deeply, both for the rich and the poor, for rich and poor countries alike. Social-economics shift, labour markets change, technologies threaten people and make some people richer than rich. Should we accept everything that is going on? Can we do anything about it? What can or should governments do? Many questions, but as yet there are too few answers. But whatever the case: we need a different mindset for the digital world.