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Suppose the internet existed in 1929. How might the Great
Depression have been different? The Internet is a tool of global
communication. If it had been available in the 1930s, the
downturn and subsequent restructuring that became the Great
Depression could have occurred faster and more efficiently,
yielding less suffering. Eighty years later, we are on the brink
of such an economic turning point. How can we utilize the
Internet to help prevent the suffering and hardships experienced
in the 1930s?
This is the question being asked on communities all over the
internet, and it is the inspiration for a new website,
EconomicTurningPoint.com. ETP is a non-partisan global
think-tank dedicated to utilizing the resources available to us
to address the current economic crisis and avoid a decade of
poverty and warfare - and they're recruiting. The theory behind
the site - inspired by recent research by thinkers like Malcom
Gladwell, Clay Shirky, James Surowiecki and Ray Kurzweil - is
that a large international community of intellectually curious
individuals, utilizing modern communications technology and
cooperating as a whole, can achieve great things.
Edward Thompson, one of the site's administrators, said:"We are
facing a dramatic restructuring of our economy. The traditional
steps for this process involve massive layoffs, stock sell-offs,
crumbling consumer confidence, reduced spending, and then -
after many years - a new economy rises from the ashes. What if
we could sidestep most of that? What if we could avoid much of
the hardship - and the potential for war, both civil and global
- and simply restructure from where we are now? How would YOU do
it?"
Thompson emphasized the pragmatic nature of the website: "ETP
welcomes people from all political persuasions; nonetheless, we
will not tolerate stubborn ideology. All ideas are welcome on
our website; partisan politicking and finger-pointing are not.
We are, first and foremost, solution-oriented."
You can visit the website and forums at
http://www.economicturningpoint.com
Mr. Thompson can be reached by e-mail at
ConsensusETP@gmail.com
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