Our innovation era: creative destruction or destructive creation- which?
I keep coming back to the dilemma often faced in innovation- do we practice “creative destruction” or “destructive creation?
We are entering some perilous times in climate change and what this will mean in destruction in what we know, what we value and what we are used to.
I can’t imagine when Joseph Schumpeter outlined his groundbreaking efforts for explaining “creative destruction” he or anyone else could imagine this being flipped around to what we are facing more of today, that of “destructive creation”. We live in a throwaway society, and simply this is not sustainable.
Schumpeter saw “creative destruction” as the renewing, through innovation, society’s dynamics that would lead to higher economic development and welfare levels. At the same time, recognizing that this destroyed a few of the incumbents to benefit many more newcomers and increase value creation for broader society.
Today we are in a destructive creations world.