The long march of human progress resembles a trek through a range of mountains, with each summit representing a distinct economic era. At each of these local peaks along the way, we felt initially satisfied with our accomplishments, but later realized that this was not our ultimate destination and there is still higher ground up ahead. And while we are right to value how far we’ve come, we must equally appreciate how far we have to go. Each leg of the journey has strengthened us in some ways and taken a serious toll on us in others. Today, we believe we are traversing our most precarious ridgeline yet, but if we navigate it successfully, we can ascend to our highest and most significant summit – the wisdom economy.
The Stops Along Our Economic Journey
For millenia, we moved along the plains, living in small bands of hunter/gatherers. We relied on relatively few people and tools to survive. There wasn’t much of an economy to speak of. Humans generally shared the responsibilities of finding food, providing protection, and raising children with their group. There were social complexities and spiritual questions, but in terms of acquiring and sharing resources, the model was fairly simple. There was little need for sophisticated mechanisms to manage the process of providing for ourselves.
At some point, we wandered into the metaphorical foothills of large-scale cooperation, and the agricultural economy served as our base camp, where value grew directly from the soil. Those who controlled fertile land and the means to cultivate it, were able to create wealth. Success was determined by a combination of what the earth could yield and the human effort required to farm it and fight for it. The agrarian lifestyle placed extremely high value on geography and the control of critical aspects of it, like plains, rivers, and ports. Societies were often formed by the plow, spread by the sword, and connected by the boat. This economic period initially created incentives to stay put and stay patient, producing what we needed to feed ourselves and to trade with those around us. However, it eventually sparked the desire to build stockpiles, stretch out, and tap into new markets of buyers and trading partners. This era marked the big shift from the utilization of resources to the accumulation of resources.
Next came the industrial economy, our first major ascent, where value shifted to manufacturing and distribution. Transforming raw materials into finished goods at scale became the new goal, and our ability to produce and consume became the key driver of economic growth and human flourishing. The industrial economy delivered remarkable breakthroughs in medicine, food production, transportation, and energy. The spoils were, of course, not distributed evenly throughout the world, but by the late twentieth century, it seemed clear that the barriers between our collective ability to produce adequate resources and to distribute them equitably were far more political than practical. It is also worth noting that for all of the incredible advances brought about by the industrial economy, there were certainly offsetting negative ramifications. In addition to causing tremendous damage to the natural world, we also stripped some dignity from the human spirit, often viewing and treating our fellow humans as little more than capital – a means to an end, rather than an end unto themselves.
As we began to understand the limitations and potential perils of exploiting natural resources, we continued along toward the more promising highlands of the knowledge economy, where information became the critical resource. Computing power and digital technologies unlocked possibilities that weren't visible from earlier vantage points. Our ability to automate and communicate exploded and many who had previously moved from farm to factory now moved from factory to cubicle. This era brought about tremendous access to information, the democratization of basic education, and lifted more people out of poverty than ever before. It also moved us further from the source of things we consume like food and household goods, while speeding up our pace of life considerably, and setting the stage for corporate consolidation as large businesses were able to harness our data as an asset.
Most recently, we've found ourselves traversing what some call the attention economy – or as Scott Galloway more directly names it, the "addiction economy." We think it could also be referred to as the “extraction economy”. On this steep and precarious stretch, those who can capture, direct, and monetize human attention control the route. Our focus has become a valuable resource to be extracted, often leaving us depleted and disoriented. It turns out that the human brain is easier to hack than we may have originally thought and there are numerous ways that this is creating incredible harm in our homes and communities. We are seeing shocking statistics around addictions to gambling, social media, shopping, and porn - all creating unprecedented levels of anxiety, depression, and isolation. And all of that feeds directly into the enormous challenges we face with polarization, divisiveness, and social fragmentation. It has become clear that while each of these new technologies represents amazing capabilities, the broader ecosystem is becoming toxic.
Beyond Attention: The Higher Summit of Wisdom
Despite the thin air and rugged terrain that we are currently traversing, we believe that we must press on, because there is a higher summit emerging through the clouds – the Wisdom Economy.
In a world where almost anyone can access both vast information (thanks to the internet) and sophisticated analysis (thanks to AI), the true north for navigation is increasingly becoming wisdom – the ability to discern, create, and act with moral clarity and human connection. Wisdom allows us to apply our knowledge and understanding in a way that yields the best possible results.
Think of it like this: If information tells us the weather forecast for the mountain, and understanding helps us to pack the right gear, wisdom is knowing when to turn back despite having come so far – and being able to convince your companions why safety matters more than summit photos.
The Essential Gear for Successful Navigation
In the wisdom economy, several qualities become the essential gear without which we cannot safely traverse the path:
Discernment – The weathered eyes of an experienced mountaineer who can tell when the map diverges from reality. While novices trust only what's documented, those with real experience develop the intuition to recognize when conditions have changed. This hard-earned ability to distinguish between theory and practice, between illusion and reality, becomes invaluable when everyone has access to the same information but not the same instincts to interpret it.
Discipline – The steady pace that allows for sustainable progress. In terrain designed to exhaust and distract us, the capacity to focus and maintain a deliberate cadence becomes invaluable.
Creativity & Vision – The ability to spot new routes where others are converging on well-beaten paths. In mountains where established routes become overcrowded and lead to diminishing returns, those who can envision and pioneer original passages become the true pathfinders. Those who express originality and creativity will enjoy the peace and plenty that the unspoiled wilderness affords. While machines excel at optimization, they cannot replace the human spark that imagines entirely new possibilities and brings them into being.
Values & Moral Reasoning – The compass that provides true north. In a landscape of endless possible paths, values and moral reasoning orient us toward what ultimately matters—not just where we're going but who we're becoming on the journey. This inner compass helps us stay aligned with our deepest values even when the immediate trail offers easier but less worthy alternatives.
“We now worship at the altar of innovation and youth, versus character or kindness.
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Authentic Connection – The rope that binds climbers together. While algorithms are good at calculating routes to getting in front of people, they cannot replicate the trust and security of being properly roped to fellow humans on the ascent. We all need real human connection. We crave it. And those who are able to build it will have more success (and more fun) along the way.
Purpose & Meaning-making – The ability to be purposeful in our endeavors and to read the landscape such that we find meaning in the journey, even when the summit disappears temporarily from view. This becomes essential as familiar markers evolve or vanish entirely. Life’s journey isn’t simply about reaching the top, it is about why we climb and how we grow along the way.
Wisdom as Protection
Beyond helping us find our way, wisdom serves to protect us against falling into the "extraction economy" – the sophisticated machinery designed to harvest our attention, data, and eventually, our resources.
Consider the smartphone you carry on this journey. Without wisdom, it becomes a siren call to easier, lower paths – designed to maximize your "engagement" (a sanitized term for addiction) and extract, not just your time and money, but your most precious resource: your limited energy for the climb.
With wisdom, that same device becomes a tool that serves your purposeful ascent rather than someone else's mining operation. The wisdom to recognize dead-end trails, the discipline to rest when needed but continue when possible, and the discernment to distinguish between paths that lead upward versus those that lead in circles – these are the qualities that prevent us from becoming simply resources to be harvested.
The same is true of AI. Applied as a tool, these platforms can help us to rapidly understand basic concepts, analyze information, and create valuable assets for others. However, when used as a crutch, AI becomes an ill-advised shortcut that prevents us from gaining the hard-earned experience that comes from covering all of the miles. It is wisdom that will allow us to know when, where, and how to best leverage these amazing tools, or not.
Preparing for the Climb
The wisdom economy requires new approaches to training, equipment, and expedition structure:
For individuals, success increasingly depends on developing not just technical skills and route knowledge, but wisdom-oriented practices like: reflection, critical thinking, ethical decision-making, and sincere connection with fellow travelers.
For organizations, competitive advantage will come from creating climbing cultures where wisdom is valued above speed and power – where time for acclimatization is protected, where ethical considerations guide route selection, and where the strength of the rope team remains central to operations.
For educational and training institutions, the challenge becomes teaching not just route-finding or even climbing techniques, but how to be a responsible mountaineer – how to develop the character and disposition to use knowledge wisely in novel or unpredictable conditions.
Recalibrating Our Instruments and Navigating by the Stars
Perhaps what we're experiencing is less a new mountain range and more a necessary recalibration of our instruments – a return to trusting the inner compass, oriented toward a true north, that has always guided human ascents but was temporarily overridden by our fascination with external technologies.
The wisdom economy doesn't reject technical gear or interactive maps – it contextualizes them. It reminds us that equipment serves purposes beyond itself, that efficiency serves values beyond speed, and that reaching the summit still requires real effort and sacrifice.
In this recalibration, we'll rediscover ancient mountaineering truths: that discernment matters more than data, that character outweighs technical credentials, and that the opportunity to climb well ultimately matters more than the ability to document the journey.
The attention merchants have sophisticated gear and deep understanding of human psychology. They've established base camps designed to capture and monetize our focus. And in many ways, they've succeeded in diverting many climbers to their commercial routes.
But there are deeper instincts in the human expedition – the desire for meaningful summits, true companionship on the climb, and moral purpose in the journey – that cannot ultimately be satisfied by what the attention economy offers.
The wisdom economy emerges from our recognition that we need better navigation tools for this landscape – that in a world of infinite trails and finite energy, wisdom becomes the essential resource.
Those who cultivate it, in themselves and their teams, will not only find shelter from the extraction machinery of the attention economy but will discover new routes and vistas that were there all along, waiting to be recognized by those with eyes to see beyond the obvious path.
The agricultural valleys and industrial ridgelines haven't disappeared from our economic landscape. They've simply become part of a more complex terrain. And on this newest ascent, the most valuable resource isn't the gear we carry, the technical moves we know, or even who we know on the mountain – but who we are as climbers and how we read the terrain that lies ahead.
The wisdom to persevere rather than merely endure will mark those who successfully navigate this new economic summit.
