The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the 2025 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel (also known as the Nobel Prize in Economics) to Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion, and Peter Howitt “for having explained innovation-driven economic growth.” One half of the prize is awarded to Professor Joel Mokyr “for having identified the prerequisites for sustained growth through technological progress,” and the other half is jointly awarded to Professor Philippe Aghion and Professor Peter Howitt “for the theory of sustained growth through creative destruction,” according to a press release from the Nobel Prize on 13th of October 2025.
Ideologically, the three Nobel laureates in economics believe that the modern higher standard of living is a result of innovations made possible by free-market capitalism. They are also opposed to any idea of radical or revolutionary transformation of society, arguing that revolution cannot provide answers to the problems confronting people and the planet today. They contend that a better form of capitalism, grounded in creative destruction, can harness innovation to generate prosperity through technologically driven sustainable economic growth. However, such a myopic understanding of capitalism not only overlooks the inherent contradictions and conflicts within it—arising from its exploitative nature—but also conceals its failures and contemporary predicaments. This is not a case of willful ignorance on the part of the Nobel laureates, but rather a form of intellectual dishonesty based on a selective reading of history designed to promote an ideologically driven agenda that upholds capitalism at the expense of both people and the planet. There is nothing called better capitalism.
Technological progress and innovation-driven sustainable and inclusive economic growth through creative destruction have been shaped by the ideology of planned obsolescence, which breeds profit and plays a crucial role in the evolution from techno-feudalism to platform capitalism. American and European capitalism continue to conceal themselves behind the Schumpeterian notion of “creative destruction,” where new technological innovations replace old and outdated methods of production, thereby increasing productivity and driving economic growth. There is no doubt that technology enhances the productive power of labour, but what is truly creative is labor itself. Technology represents repetitive, lifeless labor that merely assists in the process of innovation, while working people and their creative capacities play the central role in economic growth, development and all forms of technological innovation. Any attempt to undermine labour and its creative power through technology ultimately undermines productivity, growth and all forms of innovation.
Thefore, in the history of various stages of technological innovation, the current stage of technological advancement and digitalisation does not appear to be improving productivity as compared to 19th century and 20th century industrial revolution. Diane Coyle’s 2023 study, “Why Isn’t Digitalisation Improving Productivity Growth”? (Productivity Insights Paper No. 022, The Productivity Institute, Manchester, UK), highlights this digital puzzle. Similarly, a study titled “The Impact of Technology Diffusion on Growth and Productivity: Findings from an AI-Assisted Rapid Evidence Review” by the UK Government’s Department for Science, Innovation & Technology also reports a slowdown in productivity. It is therefore difficult to argue universally that technology diffusion necessarily leads to growth and productivity. In contrast, the Chinese economy does not suffer from the digital productivity puzzle and slowdown in economic growth, as it does not adhere to the ideology of planned obsolescence under the guise of creative destruction for the sake of capitalist economic growth and development.
Capitalism and its so-called culture of creative destruction domesticate and exploit labour and its creative abilities through new technologies. Capitalism uses technology to undermine labour, giving rise to the productivity puzzle under digital capitalism. Therefore, the liberation of labour from capitalist structures is crucial to expanding the creative potential of both labor and technology, ensuring sustainable economic growth and development for all beyond the ideology of planned obsolescence in the name of creative destruction. The humanisation and democratisation of technology—through collective ownership, operation, and management of its outputs—can alone ensure sustainable economic growth, technological progress, and innovation for all.
The current form of technological progress and digital advancement benefits a few while marginalising many, giving rise to new forms of capitalism that inherently retain old exploitative characteristics of capitalism. It is impossible to have a truly prosperous society where a few enjoy abundance while the majority struggle to survive. Only if technological progress addresses the needs of all , we can then only imagine a fully flourish society that is free from destitution, exploitation, and inequality. There is no novelty in a Nobel Prize that does not contribute to an egalitarian society grounded in peace and prosperity—something that capitalism cannot provide, yet Nobel laureates continue to endorse it. The notions of “better capitalism” and “sustainable growth” are not only contradictory but also myopic and ahistorical. Therefore, there is no real novelty in awarding the Nobel for creative destruction.