The culture of learning
The latest book from the Nobel prize-winner for economics discusses the strong links between learning, the economy and growth
A society grows and develops if it learns how to learn. This is also true for businesses, as it is for every individual. It is therefore appropriate to create the conditions under which such a mechanism can be built and made to function. At all levels. Something which is not easy, but which is still feasible. A cultural and social question of the first order, the creation of a learning society has been tackled by Joseph E. Stiglitz (Nobel prize-winner for economics) and Bruce C. Greenwald in a book brimming with ideas yet which is nevertheless easy to read.
“Creating a learning society”, recently translated here in Italy, derives from a more complete and technical tome which the two authors wrote after a series of conferences held at Colombia University in honour of one of the greatest economists of the century: Kenneth J. Arrow. And the book published in Italy (created from a composition which has eliminated much of the technical terminology) retains all the refreshing aspects of the original’s conversational tone.
The idea at the basis of the discourse is that “if we can create a learning society, it would result in a more productive economy and a better standard of living”. This is the point of departure for the discourse, firstly around the theoretical bases for a learning economy, and then on the measures to be adopted for disseminating the ability to learn. The objective of economic policies, according to the two authors, is “to eliminate the divergence in knowledge, if you want to reduce the divergence in growth”. This is because an improvement in living standards derives from progress in technology and not from the accumulation of capital. It is a question of culture, then, rather than of technology. A condition which, if we examine things carefully, is at the foundations not only of a good society but also of well-balanced human and productive relationships. The book unfolds on the basis of these premises. Which also have a bearing on the conditions in developing countries which – precisely -, are growing at a speed which is a function of the speed with which they are succeeding in curtailing the divergences in knowledge compared with the rest of the world.
The book by Stiglitz and Greenwald leads its readers through the winding lanes of one of the most fascinating frontiers of economics. This is also true of how it affects businesses. One of the most crucial points of the whole thing, in fact, is “to plan a business which is able to learn and innovate”. And which therefore is often managed on the basis of principles which are different from those customarily proposed by management generally. Here too, learning and innovation go hand in hand, alongside an evolution in manufacturing culture which is more open than before, more receptive to external demands and more readily in a position to seize the opportunities which flow from the social system in which the business is immersed. Indeed, in speaking about the organisation of production and of knowledge, Stiglitz and Greenwald deliver a fundamental assessment: “Whilst for the progress of society it is desirable that knowledge, once it has been created, should be handed on as much as possible over a wide range and in the most efficient manner, businesses which operate with a view to the maximisation of profit have always sought to limit such handing on as much as possible”. In summary, the question of learning also involves that of the social responsibility of business, of the role of a company within its locality and in the human system to which it belongs.
The book by Stiglitz and Greenwald – albeit a simplified version -, is not always extremely easy to read, but it constitutes one of the most important readings of current times to open our minds to the theme of the future: learning to learn. And within businesses too.
Creating a learning society. A new approach to growth, development and social progress
Joseph E. Stiglitz, Bruce C. Greenwald
Einaudi, 2018
The latest book from the Nobel prize-winner for economics discusses the strong links between learning, the economy and growth
A society grows and develops if it learns how to learn. This is also true for businesses, as it is for every individual. It is therefore appropriate to create the conditions under which such a mechanism can be built and made to function. At all levels. Something which is not easy, but which is still feasible. A cultural and social question of the first order, the creation of a learning society has been tackled by Joseph E. Stiglitz (Nobel prize-winner for economics) and Bruce C. Greenwald in a book brimming with ideas yet which is nevertheless easy to read.
“Creating a learning society”, recently translated here in Italy, derives from a more complete and technical tome which the two authors wrote after a series of conferences held at Colombia University in honour of one of the greatest economists of the century: Kenneth J. Arrow. And the book published in Italy (created from a composition which has eliminated much of the technical terminology) retains all the refreshing aspects of the original’s conversational tone.
The idea at the basis of the discourse is that “if we can create a learning society, it would result in a more productive economy and a better standard of living”. This is the point of departure for the discourse, firstly around the theoretical bases for a learning economy, and then on the measures to be adopted for disseminating the ability to learn. The objective of economic policies, according to the two authors, is “to eliminate the divergence in knowledge, if you want to reduce the divergence in growth”. This is because an improvement in living standards derives from progress in technology and not from the accumulation of capital. It is a question of culture, then, rather than of technology. A condition which, if we examine things carefully, is at the foundations not only of a good society but also of well-balanced human and productive relationships. The book unfolds on the basis of these premises. Which also have a bearing on the conditions in developing countries which – precisely -, are growing at a speed which is a function of the speed with which they are succeeding in curtailing the divergences in knowledge compared with the rest of the world.
The book by Stiglitz and Greenwald leads its readers through the winding lanes of one of the most fascinating frontiers of economics. This is also true of how it affects businesses. One of the most crucial points of the whole thing, in fact, is “to plan a business which is able to learn and innovate”. And which therefore is often managed on the basis of principles which are different from those customarily proposed by management generally. Here too, learning and innovation go hand in hand, alongside an evolution in manufacturing culture which is more open than before, more receptive to external demands and more readily in a position to seize the opportunities which flow from the social system in which the business is immersed. Indeed, in speaking about the organisation of production and of knowledge, Stiglitz and Greenwald deliver a fundamental assessment: “Whilst for the progress of society it is desirable that knowledge, once it has been created, should be handed on as much as possible over a wide range and in the most efficient manner, businesses which operate with a view to the maximisation of profit have always sought to limit such handing on as much as possible”. In summary, the question of learning also involves that of the social responsibility of business, of the role of a company within its locality and in the human system to which it belongs.
The book by Stiglitz and Greenwald – albeit a simplified version -, is not always extremely easy to read, but it constitutes one of the most important readings of current times to open our minds to the theme of the future: learning to learn. And within businesses too.
Creating a learning society. A new approach to growth, development and social progress
Joseph E. Stiglitz, Bruce C. Greenwald
Einaudi, 2018