Revolution is social invention

I'm planning to write a series of blogs regarding systems thinking. To research this topic, I came across the various blogs of Ron Davidson - where I found this quote:

"If I were to ask you to name some technological inventions that helped us to become modern, you could probably name quite a few – things like the printing press, the steam engine, the automobile and the computer. But if I were to ask you what social inventions helped us to become modern, you might pause. We are less inclined to think of things like schools and universities, banks and corporations as inventions and yet they are. Our social institutions and customs are at least as different from what they had in medieval times as is our technology.

When a technology inventor comes up with a radically new product, they call it an innovation. When a social inventor like Martin Luther or Thomas Jefferson comes up with a radically new institution, they call it revolution."

At ThoughtWorks we talk about "Revolutionizing the IT Industry". When we say this, we are not just talking about new tools or new methods, but about an innovation in thinking within the industry itself - and in the organisations that use IT in their business.