The Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday is more than just a day off. It should be a time to reflect on where we are in meeting Dr. King's Dream and the American goal of an inclusionary society. An inclusionary society is absolutely necessary for the functioning of an intangible economy. As Richard Florida and others have pointed out, creativity thrives where there is diversity and tolerance. In this intangible economy, we can not afford to exclude any human assets.
The intangible economy is also the networked economy. Metcalf's Law roughly states that the value of a network increases exponentially in relation to the number of participants. The same is true for that network of productive activity we call the economy. By leaving some behind, we impoverish not only those individuals; we also impoverish ourselves. By empowering and embracing others, we also empower ourselves.
Let us continue to keep this in mind, not only today, but always as we strive to build an inclusionary intangible economy.
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