The family unit is of utmost importance for society as it ensures stable reproduction. The basic building block of a society is the family unit, not the individual. Much like a water molecule ceases to behave as water when it is split into hydrogen and oxygen, families behave differently than individuals. A family operates in the interest of a family and while an atomized individual only acts in their self-interest.
So then what roles should each member of the family perform? The father should lead the household, provide for the family, and teach a craft to the children. The mother should nurture the children, educate the children, and assist in the family craft. The children should learn from their parents, assist in chores, and continue the family legacy. This is not to imply that women should not help provide for their families or that men should not nurture their children, but the sexes have different roles to play.
To ensure the economic health of each family each family should be given access to the means of production so they can independently produce goods for their communities. This could take many different forms; a family given a farm to produce food, a family given a bioreactor to produce medicine, a family given a 3d printer to produce molds for lost PLA casting. The list goes on. Classical distributism proposed 3 acres and a cow to make each family financially independent. The distributism of the fourth industrial revolution proposes 3D printers and a house.
It is not enough merely to guarantee access to the means of production, the state must innovate and direct research as well. To do this the state should set up several small labs focused on sustainable, small-scale production and open them to the public. Laboratories require expensive and specialized machinery to run tests, and they will need public funding. If they are to be funded by the citizens, then the citizens ought to have access to them to run tests of their own. Obviously access to certain laboratory facilities will have to be restricted based on expertise and hazardous materials will need strict oversight. The state is the only entity that could reasonably run the laboratories as the research may not be initially profitable. Subject matter experts will run each individual laboratory in their field of expertise and help determine who has access to which areas of the lab. These experts would be appointed by the local elected government officials.
A decentralized, adaptable, sustainable, autarkic, and innovative society will be made possible the 4th industrial revolution. The systems and processes necessary for such a society must be designed and adopted by independent citizens wanting a brighter future. Taking steps towards this world could be as simple as starting a business with a 3D printer. Makers, homesteaders, biohackers, STEM majors, tradesmen, and open-source developers must be the vanguard of this ideology and will have to play leading roles in any movements promoting the distributism of the 4th industrial revolution. The future can be bright if we want it to be.