Beyond Capitalism and Socialism: Towards a Human-Centred Digital Economy

As an artist, I have always been fascinated by the forces that shape how we live, think, and create. My paintings often explore open spaces, light, and the shifting boundaries between nature and human experience. In many ways, our world today is undergoing a similar transformation, one where technology and artificial intelligence are redrawing the boundaries of society itself.

In this essay, I reflect on the fading relevance of the old systems of capitalism and socialism, and on the need for a new, more human-centred approach to the digital age. It is a call to look beyond ideology and to rediscover the simple truth that every system must, at its core, serve humanity.

The old definitions of capitalism and socialism belong to another time. They were born out of the industrial age when the sources of wealth were material covering land, factories, machinery, and physical labour. Those systems made sense when the world was measured by what could be built, mined, or manufactured. But today, we live in a world shaped by information, data, and artificial intelligence. The economic power of our time lies not in hands and machines but in algorithms and digital networks.

The Decline of the Old Capitalism
Capitalism once promised opportunity, innovation, and individual freedom. For a while, it delivered. People could rise through effort, and competition kept the system alive. But over time, capitalism has hardened into something less human and more mechanical, a structure that rewards accumulation over contribution.

In our digital era, control has shifted again, this time to a small minority, perhaps no more than three percent of the global population, made up of those who design, own, and direct the technologies that shape our everyday lives. The rest of us, the ninety-seven percent, are carried along by systems we did not create and cannot easily influence.

As Professor Richard Wolff observed in his conversation with Jordan Chariton, capitalism has evolved into a structure where “a few decide and the rest obey.” The boardroom has replaced the town hall; algorithms have replaced the voice of the people.

The Shortcomings of Old Socialism
Socialism arose as a response to the inequalities of capitalism, but it too was a product of its time. In many cases, it replaced private control with state control, shifting power but not always sharing it. The intention, fairness and equality, was noble, but the result often silenced the very people it meant to empower.

Today’s world demands something different, not a return to central authority, but a movement towards shared participation.

A New Crossroads
We now stand at a point of transition, not unlike the moment when feudalism gave way to capitalism centuries ago. The question before us is simple but urgent: how do we shape a system where technology serves humanity, not the other way round?

Neither old capitalism nor old socialism can meet the needs of this new era. We need a framework that blends innovation with compassion, a human-centred digital economy that values both progress and people.
Principles for a Human-Centred Economy

Shared Decision-Making
The people who create value, such as workers, users, and communities, should have a voice in the decisions that affect them. Democracy should not end at the ballot box; it should extend to the workplace, the platform, and the algorithm.

Technology as a Common Good
Digital infrastructure, data, and access to AI should not be owned by a few or locked behind corporate gates. Like public roads or clean air, they should belong to everyone.

Ethical Responsibility
Progress should not come at the expense of people or the planet. True innovation lifts humanity; it does not divide or degrade it.

Education and Inclusion
Every person, regardless of background, deserves access to the digital tools and knowledge that define modern life. Inclusion is not charity; it is the foundation of a fair society.

The Way Forward
What lies ahead is not a battle between capitalism and socialism, but a choice between systems that serve human dignity and those that exploit it. The future belongs to ideas that combine the energy of enterprise with the conscience of community.

Technology must remain our servant, not our master. The measure of a successful economy should not be how much wealth it produces, but how much hope, purpose, and possibility it gives to people.

Conclusion
We are living through a time of transformation, one that challenges us to rethink what progress really means. The task before us is not to revive the old debates of the past but to write a new chapter where technology, economy, and humanity move forward together.

The old capitalism and socialism have run their course. What must now rise is an economy guided by empathy, fairness, and shared responsibility, a system that places humanity, not profit, at the centre of its purpose.