In the eighteenth century the great economist and philosopher Adam Smith invented the mother of all economic models; unlimited interaction between individuals would maximize the profit in the “marketplace”.  Helped by the industrial revolution in the century after, the proof was in the pudding and the man was right. Millions of people were paid more than they ever earned before and the average standard of living started to increase. The founders and owners of large corporations invented the term “social Darwinism” to justify exploitation of their workers.   more

Not too long ago, there was just one screen in our lives. We called it TV. Everyone surrounded it at set times.

Now screens surround us. They’re everywhere you look, in airports, cars, grocery stores, and on gas pumps. And they’re closing in, on our desks, in our laps, and even in our pockets. In fact, screens far outnumber people. Read more »

While discussing the content of our What’s Next magazine themed ‘Surprise”, the idea was born to ask Japanese illustrators to share with us their  artistic impressions to the phrase “Nobody saw it coming”.  Naturally, both their thoughts and our thoughts gravitated to the terrible earthquake and nuclear disaster that took place in Japan this year.  When I saw the final result of their efforts, appearing in the latest issue of the magazine, I was struck by the images and by the meaning of those words. Read more »

The end of the world.

According to a source that is steady as a rock, on Friday 21 December 2012 the world will cease to be. Whether mother earth will explode, evaporate or being sucked up by a black hole remains unclear. But the Mayans said so and Nostradamus agreed, therefore this must be true. Read more »