Business

Consumer-centricity needs a social contract

The customer may be king, but they need to give something back as well.

03 September 2020

The concept of a social contract is very intriguing and progressive. It sat at the heart of enlightenment thinking and was instrumental at wrestling social control away from monarchs and mercantile oligarchs. We fret today about being ruled by power-hungry overlords and shadow groups, but we forget that it was once much worse. As the duke told the peasant: "You talk a lot of crap for someone with such a flammable house."

The social contract, which strives to balance the rights and responsibilities between citizens and governments, was a profound change in how societies operate, and for the better. At its heart, such a contract states that we all have skin in the game, so we can all have expectations, but also need to sacrifice a little to make it all hold together. Whenever this social contract is undermined by dictators or coups or fascists from any part of the political-social spectrum, the consequences are disastrous.

ITWeb Premium

Get 3 months of unlimited access
No credit card. No obligation.

Already a subscriber Log in