Albert Wenger is not only famous for being a Venture Capital partner of Union Square Ventures, a portfolio that includes companies such as Twitter, Foursquare, Etsy, Kickstarter and Shapeways. Albert is also a writer, his book “World After Capital” is a lucid analysis of the problems of our time that offers an opportunity to reflect on the role of our “attention” in a post-capitalist world. The author has published on his blog a list of six fundamental areas to consider, an agenda for a conscious 2020.
Albert W. notes a major crisis of what seems destined to be remembered as the era of the climate emergency, his opinion continues criticising the daily debate that rages in the world of information. An old way of tackling problems with tools that are unsuitable for assessing, evaluating and understanding the critical issues of our time.
His successful metaphor sees us pushing and fighting for a place on the Titanic. Unlike the ship destined to sink, however, our society has the tools to change course.
The 2020 agenda has a clear reference to blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies in its good intentions. Wenger recommends what to read, do and fund in order to prepare for the challenges of 2020.
After the fight against the climate crisis, the defence of democracy and universal basic income, point 4 introduces decentralisation:
- Recommended books:Â Nicholas Taleb’s Antifragile and Satoshi Nakamoto’s White Paper
- Things to do: Buy Bitcoin, use and develop decentralised applications. Move away from giants like Google, Facebook and Amazon in favour of portals like DuckDuckGo and alternative tools.
- What to fund:Open Source projects via Open Collective or support the big strides that blockchain foundations are making through the many decentralised applications on the market.
It seems therefore that those who are in the habit of looking at and understanding the needs of the future are turning their attention to the blockchain sector.
The list continues with a focus on the techniques of awareness and concentration typical of meditation and yoga, concluding with the importance of alternative or complementary training compared to traditional training.
What is defined by the venture capitalist as “the age of knowledge” appears to require the contribution of a new community, capable of enhancing web 3.0, disintermediation and privacy.
Even Fred Wilson, co-founder of the same company that Albert Wenger (Union Square Ventures) is partnering with, seems to be aligning himself by pointing out in his blog that 2020 will confirm a trend in which encryption in Web applications, and decentralised money, will be the drivers of a paradigm shift.
When personalities of this kind communicate and show curiosity related to certain areas, it is certainly a sign that money may be getting closer and closer to the areas mentioned.
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