★ Author Dominic H. King has spent over two decades delving into socio‑economic trends, blending an academic background in economics with hands‑on experience in public‑sector consulting and business research. He dissects the societal costs of “innovation gone awry” from multiple perspectives, offering readers a professional and trustworthy analytical framework.
★ Focusing on such “paradoxes of progress” as health decline, ecological destruction, digital alienation, and self‑indulgence, this work helps readers quickly grasp the pressing realities confronting us all—ranging from algorithmic addiction and environmental overexploitation to workplace hyper‑competition and social isolation—and proposes pathways for transformation that prioritize the self, the planet, and one another, providing direction for breaking through personal and societal challenges.

The invention of new tools has pushed humanity to new heights for millennia. But as the pace and power of technological change have accelerated over recent decades, so too have major societal challenges such as sagging health, pyrrhic connectivity, and ecological annihilation.
This leaves us facing tough questions: Have we lost sight of the short-term pain/long-term gain trade-off at the heart of human progress? By seeking technological quick fixes, are we simply spinning the innovation flywheel ever faster, exacerbating the very problems we’re trying to solve? And why do politicians not curb our self-destructive desire for instant gratification?
Tackling these issues to stave off the rising risk of societal collapse will be hard, but meaningful change always is.

Dominic H. King
Dominic H. King has been conducting research on socio-economic trends for more than twenty years. He studied economics at the University of Leeds and the University of Bath, after which he moved to London to work in public-sector consulting. In recent years, he has served as a business researcher, dedicating himself to demonstrating the importance of diversity and sustainable development from a business perspective.

The Parable of the Shopping Cart Bag

Part One: A Brief History of Discounting the Future
Loss of Faith
The Price of Progress
Artificial Intelligence and the Future

Part Two: Has Human Progress Stalled?
Declining Health
The Takeout Culture
The Sedentary Office Worker
Ecological Destruction
Fossilized Fools
The Extra-Large Us
Futile Connectivity
Anti-Social Media
The Pixelated Generation

Part Three: Will Government Curb Our Indulgence?
Polarized Societies
Today’s Jam (the “Live for Today” Mentality)
The Public Landscape

Part Four: Where Do We Go From Here?
Caring for Ourselves
Caring for the Earth
Caring for One Another
A Triple Win
Returning to the Roots of Politics
What Lies Within Our Sight

Acknowledgments
References