Third+Wave+Ch+20


 * Chapter 20: The Rise Of The Prosumer

The first wave marked the beginning of the prosumer notion. The second wave split the consumers and producers distinctly. The third wave seeks to merge and revive the idea of prosumers.

There are 2 sectors to be defined, Sector A and Sector B. Sector A comprises of all unpaid work done by people for themselves, their families or their communities. Sector B comprises of all production of goods or services for sale. The first wave saw the rise of Sector A and the minimal usage of Sector B. The second wave exhibited the exact opposite of the first wave, maximising Sector B and downplaying the role of Sector A. The third wave aims to converge Sector A and Sector B, creating a whole new society and economy that will appear in the future.

The emergence of Do-It-Yourself, also known as "externalising labour costs" influenced consumers to work for what they need. There is increasing externalisation, increasing involvement of the consumer, the transfer of activity from Sector B of the economy to Sector A, from the exchange sector to the prosumption sector.

Consumers are more involved in the production of goods, as consumers become producers themselves in the process of helping with production. This production is then shifted from Sector B to Sector A

The prosumption of demarketisation amalgamates the infusion of characteristics of both the first and second wave into a new historic synthesis of an unprecendented emergence of the prosumer economy. New work styles and life arrangements will have to be made. Lifestyles will be more rounded, varied, less monotonous, more creatively satisfying and less market-intensive. This change in the balance between production for use and production for exchange wil set off depth charges under the economic system and values as well.

The effectiveness of prosumer in Sector A can lead to higher or lower costs to companies or government agencies operating in Sector B. With the entry of the third wave, previous stated terms will have to be re-defiend, terms such as "productivity", "economy", "efficiency", "welfare", "unemployment". The rise of the prosumer will shift the basis of economic conflict. The entire economy will have to change as the third wave sets itself into place.

The second wave has "marketised" the world and this "marketisation" is about to end at the third wave. The relationships between Sector A and Sector B are complex, and many of the activities of prosumers depend on the purhase of materials or tools from the market. But the rise of self-help and the demarketisation of many goods and services suggests that the end of the process of marketisation is near. **