The Fourth Industrial Revolution: A New Ideology

Abstract

The hegemonic construal of the “Fourth Industrial Revolution” portrays rapid technological developments as a bold, new industrial revolution. Since there is sparse evidence of any such revolution across the totality of social, political, cultural and economic institutions, locally and globally, the focus must turn to how this ideological frame functions to further the interests of social and economic elites worldwide. This article examines the way that Klaus Schwab, as the principal intellectual of the World Economic Forum and the interests it represents, has formulated and disseminated this ideology. It argues that the “Fourth Industrial Revolution” frame bolsters the contingent neoliberalism of the post-Washington consensus period, and therefore serves to obscure the continuing decline of the globalised world order with a ‘brave new world’ narrative.

Why there is no technological revolution, let alone a ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’

“…I have argued elsewhere that this context is not so much about science and technology per se, but about the political and ideological intervention that Schwab sought to achieve at Davos 2016. 13,14 If I may be permitted an indulgence, I would say that it is less about machines than about political machinations. However, both sets of protagonists accept that we live in an era of rapidly evolving technological innovation and change.…”

Debunking the Myth of the Fourth Industrial Revolution

“…The core contention underlying this paper is that the notion of a 4IR is ideology, and while it justifies certain practices, it does not exist as a substantive socio-economic phenomenon. As ideology, it functions to naturalize and obscure the deepening exploitation and marginalization of the world's poorer nations and people (for a development of this argument, see Moll, 2022a).…”

“…in 1983, Discovery in 1984, and Atlantis in 1985 Although the Russian Soyuz-7 rockets are not reusable, there has been some degree of cooperation on this since the mid-1990s in the International Space Station project, between the participating space agencies -Russia, Japan, Europe, Canada and the USA. What was new in the early to mid-2010s was the emergence of private spaceflight companies, but this has more to do with the neoliberal ideology of contemporary globalization than it has to do with technology (Moll, 2022a).…”

“…Despite all of this, the ideology, or if you like the 'discourse', of a 4IR seems to be ubiquitous and hegemonic (Moll, 2022a). In the quotation from Klaus Schwab on page 3 that sets out his belief in and conviction about the existence of a 4IR (pp.4-5), a number of key metaphors are put forward to describe the alleged revolution.…”

Scientific revolution, industrial revolution, technological revolution or revolutionary technology? A rejoinder to Marwala and Ntlatlapa (S Afr J Sci. 2023;119(1/2))

“…Most of my other writings on the 4IR are systematic demonstrations that there is no 4IR in broader social, cultural and geopolitical terms. [4][5][6] Growing global and national wealth divides, precarity of work for ordinary people, hollowing out of the middle classes, fragmentation of identity and culture, and marginalisation of the South by offshoring, outsourcing and 'onshoring back to the Cloud', are all sustained, deepening aspects of the 3IR. I repeat what I suggested in the article: "it appears increasingly clear that the 'brave new world' of the 4IR is not really happening" 3(p.1) .…”