For more than a decade now, the almost-poetic tonalities of "The Promise Economy" have resonated in my head, as I've watched that economy evolve.
"The Promise Economy," as I see it, is the economy of the predictable, promise-worthy future; the economy of fundamentally continuous 3%/year growth; the economy of both Wal-Mart and Wall Street, consumer and corporation, advertiser and audience. It's the economy we currently live in, in which stocks are bought by institutional investors, retirement funds, and even daytraders, presuming that tomorrow will be like today, only a bit better.
The Promise Economy has as its premise the status quo, plus-plus. Incremental, inevitable growth in GDP, purchasing power, and availability of luxury. Cheap food, cheap crap from China, and a widening gap between the superrich and the rest of us.
The Promise Economy has been the belle of the ball for a century, clothed in the gaudy gossamer of expectations and certainty, with everyone at the ball believing that cloth into existence. Dance after dance, there were the clothes.
Alas, a few realities may disrupt those promises, which could have dramatic consequences both economically and politically. Not to mention showing our belle to be naked.