The Support Economy Why Corporations Are Failing Individuals and the Next Episode of Capitalism

The Support Economy

Why Corporations Are Failing Individuals and the Next Episode of Capitalism

By: Shoshana Zuboff and James Maxmin

475 pp.

Viking Penguin India 2002

Review by: Lydia Morris Brown

According to Zuboff and Maxmin, the past 50 years have seen the rise of a new breed of individual, that has, over time, changed more than the organizations upon which it depends. These new individuals, in their search for psychological self-determination, want tangible support in leading lives freed from "the time-consuming stress, rage, injustice, and personal defeat that accompanies so many commercial exchanges."

Yet, corporations continue to be led by a 100-year-old logic, known as managerial capitalism, invented for the production and distribution of things. Because the authors believe that today’s business models cannot bridge the chasm separating individuals from organizations, they offer The Support Economy. In it, they present the "metaprinciples" for creating a new enterprise logic-one that redefines the purpose of commerce and envisions a new economic order-"distributed capitalism." And, they examine the opportunities for the kinds of commercial inventions that will address the demands of the new individuals and their needs for deep support.