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Surely, purpose would fit with our set of Horizon 3 Visions, right? In fact we originally referred to the “Sustainable Commons” visions as “Sustainability and Moral Purpose.” So I was surprised to find after digging into The Purpose Economy book, that it squarely fit as in H2 Transitions as a “New Source of Value” branch.
The simple distinction: H3 Visions propose a new economic system to follow capitalism, while H2 Transitions are still within the capitalist framework. There is a sub-category within these transitions: “source of new value” that in effect work within capitalism but suggest there will be a shift in emphasis on what brings value within that system. Indeed, the author of the Purpose Economy does our work for us here: “we are in the early days of the emergence of a Purpose Economy—the fourth American economy in our history….it is likely that in fewer than 20 years, the pursuit of purpose will eclipse the third American economy—the Information Economy.” So, the source of value has shifted from agriculture to manufacturing to information and now to purpose. To put this in context, thirteen other “new sources of value” concepts have been identified:
| Algorithm/Data | Experience | Metaspace |
| Artisan | Intangible | Network |
| Attention | Knowledge | Philanthrocapitalism |
| Creative Molecular | Leisure | Relationship |
| Zero Marginal Cost |
To put it unfavorably, purpose becomes a new focal point for making money. We sell purpose instead of information. We co-opt the noble pursuit of making a difference and find out how to make money from it. However, that is not the intention of the author. I believe it is a quite genuine and useful attempt to improve the capitalist approach – to make the current system work better. I believe the author is committed to purpose in a noble sense, and proposing to work within the existing framework to make it happen. Some might find commercializing purpose to be a bit paradoxical, but the book is full of examples of how this is already happening. — Andy Hines
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