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Book review - Seven Ways To Fix The World

Will crowd-sourcing bring down capitalism? Will 3D printers - that can print everything from energy-efficient concrete bricks to replacement parts for your washing machine - spell the demise of the global trade in throw-away consumer products? Will women's empowerment lead to a world of cooperation rather than testosterone fuelled competition? These are just some of the future possibilities explored in Christopher Barnatt's excellent new book 'Seven Ways to Fix the World' and on his website.

They're also some of the questions we'll be asking in a new 3 year research programme that we're about to embark on (more on this below).

In his new book, Christopher Barnatt calls for a rebirth of local economies.

3D printers, he says, can now be bought for $1000. These wonder machines are able to print objects made from plastic, glass, metal, ceramics, cement, silver and gold. They could bring manufacturing back to local economies. They could mean that spare parts for 'designed to repair' products never run out. Together with urban agriculture through vertical farms and windowsill farms, they could, he says, see the return of thriving local economies.

He also says that the future may be dominated by crowd-sourcing approaches; people using digital communication to donate time and brain-power to solve problems and create opportunities.

We are already familiar with open-source software such as Linux and OpenOffice developed through the use of crowd-sourcing. But virtual communities of people are beavering away on scores of other projects, such as theoscarproject.org which is developing a simple energy efficient car that can be produced locally, or prosthetics, or a 3D printer for your home.

Crowd-sourcing developments, allied to 3D printing, could see a revolution in activity that barely involves the monetary world, according to Christopher Barnatt. This possibility alone is probably enough to throw growth-fixated politicians like George Osborne and Ed Balls into a panic. Even more likely to panic them is the potential of a world where women in power put cooperation ahead of competition, something that Christopher Barnatt says is very necessary in order to fix the world.

'Seven Ways to Fix the World' is a right riveting read, and very accessible.

A friend, former colleague and current research collaborator - Duncan McLaren - recently said to me that the latter half of the 21^st century is likely to be different from now as the 20^th century was different to the 18^th century. That's a pretty bold suggestion. But one which I suspect Christopher Barnatt would agree with.

With Duncan and others we are about to embark on a research project that will identify how we can focus humankind's ingenuity and efforts to get us out of the precarious environmental position we find ourselves in and take us on a path to wellbeing for people and the planet. Local economies, 3D printing, crowd-sourcing and coproduction, women's empowerment and more will all feature.

Look out for future blogs as we unveil the programme, and ask for your help to co-produce a routemap to a better world.