DailyPost 2153
DIGITALLY FUEDAL
The pace of human civilization has been very organic for most part of its existence. This nature of growth provided enough time for every element to get integrated into a living style and life went on. There were hardly any discrepancies, it seems. Some which existed were managed and it was also accepted that it would take a long time, to set things right. The mindset, thought process, system of working, economy, nature of institutions, lifestyle and methods of command and control, each fed into the other and a working equilibrium was seen to be functional and fairly successful too. The current age made everything go topsy turvy.
The pace of change has been garnering speed for quite sometime now. The lack of sync is getting more visible by the day. Overall change and tech adoption has not been easy. From mindset to education to culture everything has a role to play. Countries and societies have been caught in this vortex of change. As the say, we have the technology of the 21st century, the institutions of the 20th and the mindset / thought process of the 19th century. This is the realty of existence of large parts of the world, which can be very aptly described by the term Digitally Feudal.
While we have still been struggling with enmeshing our modern world view democratic superstructure with the archaic, conventional, entitlement ridden, feudalistic infrastructure, the fast pace technological change has literally blown us off. We love to be feudal which is expressed in a variety of ways days in and day out; from dignity of labor, to the unchanging paternalistic attitude of the government. Digital is not a packaging which we have to live with, it should have become a way of life. It could have been created as a sharp opposite of feudal, caste ridden, not expertise driven and what not. But that did not happen.
Few digital utilities and fast paced communication have been touted as the sine qua non of a digital way of life. Think for a second the modern communication technology missing; how much of the Indian real life has changed, when we talk of the country in totality. You can start from elections to quality of educational and heath infra to the attitudes we have to live with. Digital is a modern world view, is should proclaim a flat society. Only information cannot make a flat world, though it certainly contributes. But the crutches of feudal societies have proved to be stronger till now. Democratization of everything facilitated and perpetrated through technology should be the name of the game. And miles to go before we see ourselves anywhere near it.
DIGITALLY FUEDAL IS AN ANTIHTESIS OF EVERYTHING DIGITAL STANDS FOR!
Sanjay Sahay