| Robert Theobald | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 11, 1929 England |
| Died | November 27, 1999 Spokane, Washington |
| Cause of death | esophageal cancer |
| Occupation | Economist and Futurist |
| Partner | Anne Deveson |
Robert Theobald (June 11, 1929 in England-November 27, 1999) was a private consulting economist and futurist author. In economics, he was best known for his writings on the economics of abundance and his advocacy of a Basic Income Guarantee. Theobald was a member of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Triple Revolution in 1964, and later listed in the top 10 most influential living futurists in The Encyclopedia of the Future.
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Robert Theobald was born in India in 1929, the son of a British businessman. He moved to England at age 16 (1945), and got his higher education in economics at Cambridge, then lived for three years in Paris. Eventually he continued his studies at Harvard University, in the late 1950s.[1]
As an economist and futurist, Theobald had a global or planetary perspective. He wrote books, prepared and appeared on broadcasts, and lectured around the world to governments, businesses and organizations.
Theobald questioned and criticized conventional confidence in economic growth, in technology, and in the culture of materialism - all of which he considered to be damaging to the environment while failing to provide opportunity and income for many of the world's people.[2] He warned against trying to maintain, and to spread or mimic worldwide, the American standard of living of the late 20th century.[3]
Despite his criticism of some aspects and effects of technology, Theobald saw tremendous potential in communications technology like on-line, personal computers (which in the 1980s he termed "micro-computers"), seeing these as tools for pooling the thoughts and opinions of very large numbers of individuals spread widely, geographically.
Theobald was an expositor and popularizer of such now-accepted concepts as "networking," "win/win," "systemic thinking," and "communications era."[4]
Robert Theobald died of esophageal cancer at his home in Spokane, Washington, shortly after returning from Australia.