Art of Creative Destruction

‘Creative Destruction’ is the spicy oxymoron warming corporate dialogues and colonising newspaper rolls after the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences was awarded to Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion, and Peter Howitt for researching into a concept widely regarded as a defining feature of capitalist economies. As a compulsive accomplice in the chaotic cauldron of advertising or a perpetual student of English literature, is this a notion first heard of? The answer is an emphatic ‘No’. Pablo Picasso, aeons ago, postulated, ‘Every act of creation is first an act of destruction’. Ideas germinate or ideas pollinate when embedded systemic conventions are uprooted or ploughed out. PB Shelley’s Ode to the West Wind signs off with ‘If winter comes, can spring be far behind?’ emphasising the cosmic interplay of destruction and creation. When the West was going gaga over it, Indian mythology had comprehensively and definitively embodied ‘Creative Destruction’ in Lord Shiva and the empirical philosophy of ‘Srishti, Sthiti, Pralaya’.

Lord Shiva underlines the paradoxical principles of creation, destruction and transcendence. Shiva Tandava Strotam symbolises dynamism, where infinite patterns of energy melt into one unified reality. It also resonates in quantum physics, where particles are incessantly forming and dissolving, echoing the cosmic rhythm. Lord Shiva is the consciousness from whom everything emerges and evolves. He is the entirety of all the universal forces that destroy to create.

‘Creative Destruction’ is not only a theory but also a lived reality. No phase of life is untouched by it. Bare necessities to opulent luxuries. Nano chips to Netflix, all are stories of these inimitable rounds of death, birth, evolution and revolution. As TS Eliot recontoured modernism with The Waste Land, as wars recalibrated world orders, as famines and floods reinvigorated green revolutions, as computers redefined the human workforce, as smartphones recaptured human consciousness, easy digital access is recreating communication means and methods. We live in a world which is shaped by relentless innovations, where today’s new is tomorrow’s old. It is ruthlessly paced. It is mercilessly mercenary. Perhaps, brutally true to what Karl Marx propounded and Joseph Schumpeter expanded in writing, ‘It is what capitalism consists of and what every capitalist concern has got to live in.’

Human communication has always evolved through cycles of ‘Creative Destruction’. The printing press made handwritten manuscripts outdated. The telegraph disrupted postal correspondence. Radio and television redefined oral and visual storytelling. But the digital revolution, particularly over the past two decades, has upstaged everything else. When my journalism career began in 2008, press releases, hefty media kits, and orchestrated media relations formed the foundation of a robust PR strategy. Today, virality, micro-influencers, direct-to-audience content and algorithm-driven visibility have reimagined the way stories are told and reputations are built. One of the stirring derivatives of this upheaval is the diminishing role of intermediaries. The traditional media is literally gasping for breath as social media platforms are elbowing out even broadcast channels. YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X are instantly gratifying flavoured cheese or caramelised popcorn. It is quick, easy and lip-smacking. It is ready feed, visually paraphrased on a platter.

The paradigm shift has also democratised communication, per se. While old-style vents still exist, PR professionals are navigating a new ecosystem which is immediate, multimedia-rich and location-independent. Direct engagement is the real game in how corporates interact with customers or how global leaders interact with the world. These are times when press releases sound pre-medieval and peace deals are brokered on X. The dyed-in-the-wool hierarchies are biting the dust when digital platforms are creating sandstorms of grassroots movement and freewheeling conversations. It is a classic template of ‘Creative Destruction’ in favour of decentralised and volatile means and methods.

Is this chaotic? Yes. Is this aggressive? Yes. The test-fired structured model of communication will wither further as digital media shores up, amped by artificial intelligence (AI). Generative AI has already flapped its wings hard enough in creating advertising content without real models or actors. The voice modulations are spot on, the acting is top-notch, and the branding is pitch-perfect. All these at the snap of a finger, only with basic conceptualisation and the right prompts. The PR professionals have to reboot with rapid response, a constant feedback loop, real-time analysis and anticipatory actions.

From a parallel space of sight and sound, the study of Netflix and its unstoppable rise can help survive through this marauding phase. It is that unsparing digital disruption which wrecked the film industry, rewrote the rules of entertainment and compelled movie stars to choose palm-sized mobile screens over theatre release. The freedom to choose is what Netflix delivers uncompromisingly, along with the unflinching commitment to original quality content without interruptions and day-out baggage. It can all be in the comfort of home and home theatre.

Communication is on the cusp of another rush of ‘Creative Destruction’. AI will morph into a more lethal weapon as global giants continue to heavily invest in it. Perhaps, we are still in the nascent stage of a magnificent mutation. A time may arrive when AI will certainly challenge average human intelligence to the extent of rendering it useless. The future of communication or public relations will depend heavily on technological integration and our ability to blend innovation with empathy and ethical judgment. While AI tools can streamline loads of data and simulate crisis management, it can also lead to information saturation or misinformation proliferation. We simply cannot stagnate. We need to harness the unbridled and unbound force of AI to rationalise and reason. The key lies in understanding our own civilizational wisdom and Lord Shiva.

Views expressed are personal. The writer is a communication professional and former journalist