After the factory [Manufacturing renewal]

Recent decades have seen the emergence in much of the developed world of so-called post-industrial nations. These are nations that are making the transition from having manufacturing-based economies to having service based economies, and this transition has brought some big economic and social problems. Economic problems include a big balance of payments deficit, and a major social problem is that, while a few people in a service-based economy can get very rich, many more people become poorer. One possible solution is a renewal of manufacturing in post-industrial nations. However, renewal cannot be achieved by trying to bring back on-shore the industrial manufacturing that has been off-shored. This is because the necessary industrial manufacturing expertise no longer exists back on-shore. Moreover, industrial manufacturing involves centralised production and long-distance transportation, both of which have high environmental costs that are now being regulated against. Accordingly, post-industrial nations need to innovate in their renewal of manufacturing. This can be achieved by combining manufacturing and services in new ways. One way is to establish design and production services that enable ordinary people to create their own goods. Another way is the production of goods that have microelectronic functionalities that enable ordinary people to create their own services.