A pitched battle is underway to control new wealth. Covid lockdowns with masking is one battle ground
and so is Cancel Culture and so is control of elections. The new wealth is data on almost every human
being alive and the ability to exploit it and to throttle it cheaply at the
speed of light. Who is the top
dog? We don’t know yet. Governments are trying for the lion’s share
but give ground to large operations in Google, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Mass media, the papers, and entertainment
purveyors are in there tweaking and stealing and corralling data. The big surprise is that NGO’s and private
interest groups and even individuals own some of the internet space because
access to millions of followers is so cheap and so fast. The power structure is changing rapidly. If government gets the upper hand, expect to see Chinese Communism with American Characteristics featuring mass surveillance and behaviour interdiction. More likely is a mixed recasting of federal-corporate-interest-group powers.
Human nature is reverting to the tribal in this
setting. Behind “woke” “white privilege” and other badges of
approval and shame is the old time simple fact of xenophobia, fear of strangers. Sadly, the strangers are fellow citizens who
don’t live in my bubble.
If we own our own data and can capitalize it, not just have it snuffled up or stolen by a few big players, perhaps this will change. Don't expect justice but hope for a measure of competition between thieves of freedom.
"In the modern world, data is wealth"
