So when we hear of a movement for conscious capitalism, we should pay heed. When institution builders are moved by visionary ideas, revolution abounds. But when the visionary values of entrepreneurs are spurred on by a rapidly changing mode of production, like the information age, these ideas can determine our future.

Patricia Aburdene, in the recent “Megatrends 2010: the Rise of Conscious Capitalism,“ highlights numerous social and psychological trends which explain the mega trend of increasing social and environmental responsibility and higher consciousness in business. But the shift toward conscious capitalism appears more an inevitability than a summary of trends. Consider that the most effective businesses are increasingly comprised of empowered employees, working in teams, under a meaningful mission, and responsive to a highly specific niche. What’s more, they are often lead by well developed individuals, branded by consumer movements, and run by people with laptops, hanging out with friends in coffee shops. Technological transformations, managerial developments, socio-cultural shifts, and increasingly effective activist campaigns have radically mutated the nature of work and the business of businesses,

Of course, prophets of the post-industrial economy have long highlighted such shifts. Yet, few have noted the increasing scope of consciousness these businesses demand and the potential for work in them to expand our awareness. It is becoming more and more evident that the business of the future is the conscious business and that those enterprises limiting consciousness limit their own success. Consider the developments in management, technology, and economics.

Over the past sixty years or so of studies in management, ever mounting evidence suggests empowered workers, with job autonomy, believing in their work, and treated with respect, are the most productive employees. Consciousness of the internal drives of workers is essential to good management.

The shift toward a post-industrial economy highlights this. For businesses are now challenged with ever increasing rates of change and complexity. Few could command and control workers if they tried. For work is increasingly performed by teams with what thirty years ago would have been an extraordinary degree of control over their work. These teams call for ever improving social and communicative skills amongst their members. And the highest echelons of power demand increasing degrees of equanimity in the face of crisis and change. Psychologically well developed individuals are in demand in the business world and this is encouraging business leaders to make personal development integral to their jobs. It is no wonder that, according to a 2003, Time story on meditation, twice as many Americans claimed to meditate as ten years prior. The postmodern age may be an age not only conscious work but spiritual awakening as well.

All of this is spurred on by the rapid pace of technological transformation. The internet economy not only challenges businesses to be more flexible and adaptive but more responsive to the needs of the public as well. Not only is product quality and customer service tracked by consumers, but so are the social and environmental responsibility of those same enterprises. While activists hone their ability to brand corporations, big business changes its face and often its mission.

Add to this the fact that environmental ethics are fast becoming integral to the moral systems of the industrialized world and that businesses are expected to abide by these ethics. Consider that increases in wealth and productivity give individuals an ever expanding scope of occupational options, and that most of us would choose meaningful work over just a job if given the choice. A picture begins to emerge.

For businesses to succeed, they must encourage the psycho-social development of at least a significant portion of their workforce and treat them humanely. They must treat their customers with care, produce quality products, and respect the environment. And most of all, they must be meaningful. Insofar as they fail to meet these objectives, they will be hobbled. But in truth, none of this is inevitable. It is up to real people with real ideas and plans to define the next mode of production which will shape the world to come.

So, is it really possible for business to change the world? And if so, is it enough for businesses to act in their own self interest, or must they develop a new ethic? How have business, culture, and the political pressures interacted to produce the conscious business movement we are witnessing today, and what will be necessary to sustain it?