{"id":9771,"date":"2021-11-09T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-08T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aspeninstitutece.softmedia.cz\/article\/2021\/challenging-times\/"},"modified":"2024-09-30T20:37:22","modified_gmt":"2024-09-30T18:37:22","slug":"challenging-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspeninstitutece.org\/cs\/article\/2021\/challenging-times\/","title":{"rendered":"Challenging Times: Matching Democracy to Wide Communities"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cFor we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us\u201d. These famous words \u2013 delivered by John Winthrop in 1630, <\/span>before the first group of\u00a0Massachusetts Bay colonists\u00a0embarked on their ship to <\/span>what was then still a new world<\/span> \u2013 have often been used to rally Americans around certain goals, ideas or political leaders.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Over decades, this biblical image has also been both ridiculed and embraced by people around the world. Only 30 years ago many believed that after the spectacular collapse of Communism in its Soviet form, no other political system would be able to challenge the western liberal democracy the United States came to embody. And although talks of \u201cthe unipolar moment\u201d, \u201cthe end of history\u201d, or even \u201cthe third wave of democracy\u201d were soon challenged, for a moment the arch of history did seem to be bending towards justice. The Iron Curtain was gone, and democracy spread to Central and parts of Eastern Europe. NATO and EU enlargement promised stability and development to people in former USSR satellite countries. Hundreds of millions of people were lifted from poverty, especially in China which at the time raised more hopes for a democratic change than fears of authoritarian revanchism. The Internet was still seen as a tool for empowering people and changing the world into a global public square, rather than a source of disinformation, bullying and social divisions.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Age of Surveillance Capitalism<\/h2>\n

Given the benefit of hindsight, we tend to think that in the past political and moral choices were simpler to make, and the way forward clearer than it is now. This is an illusion, at least to some extent. Yet the challenges we currently face indeed seem greater than only two, three decades ago.<\/span><\/p>\n

Climate crisis is the first that comes to mind. Obviously, the process of exploiting our planet to the verge of destruction did not start yesterday, but only in recent years the threat has become apparent and largely indisputable. Record high temperatures from Greenland, through Canada to Siberia, massive wildfires ravaging California and Australia, winter storms paralyzing electric grids, and torrential rainfalls threatening whole communities have become parts of our daily newsfeeds. And although, more and more of us agree that \u2018something\u2019 has to be done, although world leaders publicly pledge action\u2014we still fall short of the goal we need to achieve.<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s equally important, however, is that we still face questions on how to prevent a major catastrophe without hurting those most vulnerable, without increasing global and national inequalities, without penalizing countries least responsible for the current predicament and without compromising our liberties in the process.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After massive \u2018yellow vests\u2019 protests in France in 2018 we learned that reforms towards more sustainable economies must take into account not only future benefits but also present costs and their unequal social impact. While rich countries of the West have the necessary resources (or the borrowing power) to invest in green technologies and provide a financial cushion to more vulnerable citizens, the question arises as to what to do with states unable to come up with sufficient funds. EU members are openly discussing the so-called <\/span>Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism\u2014<\/span>a tariff levied on products from places with less restrictive environmental regulations. It is supposed to protect EU economies from foreign competition and incentivize countries outside the bloc to emulate European regulations. Without financial support, however, it may cut these countries off from the European market altogether, plunging them into even greater poverty and provoking a new set of challenges including future waves of mass migration. How can, however, this dilemma of intra-European versus more global solidarity be squared?<\/span><\/p>\n

Another great challenge facing our generation is the growing power of big tech companies. Hundreds of documents, revealed by Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen, are yet additional proof of corporate malpractices, which include engaging in censorship in authoritarian states, applying double standards of conduct to more \u2018valuable\u2019 users, or ignoring the company\u2019s own data on how its products may cause damage to individuals and societies.<\/span><\/p>\n

The scale and power of these corporations have reached levels at which they cease to be regular market players. \u201cAmazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, and Twitter are no longer merely large companies; they have taken control of aspects of society, the economy, and national security that were long the exclusive preserve of the state\u201d, Ian Bremmer wrote in \u201cForeign Affairs\u201d.\u00b9\u00a0<\/span>Adrienne La France, executive editor at \u201cThe Atlantic\u201d, argued that Facebook with its 3 billion users is \u201cthe largest autocracy on earth\u201d and should be treated by the government in Washington not as an American company but rather as \u201c<\/span>a hostile foreign power\u201d.\u00b2<\/span><\/p>\n

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Today in The Atlantic: Facebook is the largest autocracy on Earth, @AdrienneLaF<\/a> writes. Plus: @olgakhazan<\/a> on a support group for the unwoke, and @KatherineJWu<\/a> on the troubling loophole in Joe Biden\u2019s new vaccine mandate. Read it all here: https:\/\/t.co\/aMVh6HcwaH<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/GIHk0NBOTN<\/a><\/p>\n

— The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) September 27, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n