Humanity under crisis - by Rajiv Singh
Nationalism as a powerful human story - Humans have unique capability to cooperate flexibly in large numbers with people totally unknown and unrelated to each other. They depend on powerful stories to forge this unity. Nationalism was the most powerful story that has ensured human development in all fields. Large number of tribes inhabited the banks of Hwang Ho river in China and prospered for centuries. However recurrent, unpredictable floods disrupted their lives far too often. Chinese nationalism grew and welded the tribes of Hwang Ho in a single Chinese nation that could build dams, canals and tame the rivers. Nationalism as a powerful human construct had taken shape and spread far and wide.
Control over three historical human challenges - Ever since the agricultural revolution, human societies were beset with three mega problems that they struggled against - famine, disease (plague) and war. Now human beings, more or less, have been able to manage all the three eternal human problems. They have not eliminated them though, but controlled them effectively. Today more people die of obesity than famine, more people are dying of old age than disease, and more people are dying of depression and suicide than all accidents, wars, terrorist activities put together.
Liberalism lies discredited - In the last two centuries some powerful stories emerged in the form of ideas of liberalism, humanism, imperialism, fascism and communism. A lot has changed in the world post 2008 economic crisis. Liberalism survived the onslaught of Imperialism with the end of First World War, Fascism with end of Second World War and Communism with end of Cold war. Liberalism, as a philosophy, with democracy as political ideology, welfare state as social goal, free will as individual liberty, free market capitalism as economic norm only remained dominant till 2008, when with economic distress around the world discredited liberalism. Vote bank politics left majority everywhere disgruntled, welfare statism lead to massive corruption in public services, individualism left people isolated, depressed and suicidal and economic crisis made them jobless, short changed by the financial institutions. Around the world distress spread and liberalism lay discredited. By 2016 with election of Trump as President of USA and British vote on Brexit disillusionment reached western shores and discredited globalization and liberalism. The world was not left with any dominant philosophy to govern the human society.
Rise of right wing and glorification of golden past - People all over the world began to look at their golden eras in the past as panacea for all their ills. Islam imagined of Caliphate, Jews of Promised Land, Christians their Holy Roman Empire, Russia in its Oligarchy, India as Hindu Rashtra, Germany in its Nazi Era, England in "Sun never sets on British Empire" and US with 'Let's make America great again and America First' campaigns of Trump. Europe saw the sharp rise of far right groups exercising sway in even most liberal Nordic countries. In short world is without dominant philosophical ideology for governance. Leading nations have Brexited or are Trumped.
Manufacturing consent of the people - Who will organize the systems based on universal basic needs or the politics of Fundamental rights? Democracy based on ‘for the people, by the people and of the people’ has been manipulated around the world and consent of the people is getting manufactured using various tools and techniques of manipulation like public relations or propaganda or the media blitzkrieg, nexus between politicians, businesses and bureaucrats. Normatively we have one thing yet existentially something else exits. Today normatively, liberalism, from where fundamental rights emanate, has created disillusionment amongst masses that are looking to their golden eras in past myths and turning enmass towards it around the world.
Technological disruptions - Another tectonic shift is happening with fever pitched information and technological revolutions. AI, machine learning, Big data and seamless connectivity will leave billions jobless by 2050 with robots and AI replacing humans everywhere. A class of irrelevant or useless mass of people is getting created that corporates and governments do not need or bother about. The politics of power with its technological capabilities is getting more entrenched and powerful. People are getting powerless. Who will control the world will depend upon who controls the big-data? They may be government or private entities. Corporations supported by governments, are assisting them covertly, in managing their growing power. Will Digital Dictatorship follow or wisdom dawn on humanity to regulate its actions and take control of the fate of humanity, is yet to unfold.
Growing unemployment and underemployment - Just look around and see how unemployment and under employment has become endemic in developed nations. Developing nations are losing to stiff competition, automation, ill managed governance, corruption et al. Millions of youth are unemployed or losing jobs. Middle class finds its life style declining with eroding incomes. Rich poor gap is increasing feverishly. Poor youth blame themselves as incompetent or unlucky, when system is to blame. The tiny minority of rich are creating and controlling the system. Depression and suicides have become endemic and is biggest killer of 21st century. The system has got so sabotaged that it has gone beyond control of many governments. Paradoxically, most governments talk on behalf of the poor, yet act on behalf of the rich.
Organisms are algorithms – Merger of tech revolution with biotech revolution is turning the innovations under the skin of human beings. Till now the researches were all outside the human body. Now it is turning inside. All organic processes are getting reduced to algorithms. AIs can understand what happens inside the body and brains of human being better than them in a few years. Possibilities of alteration or control over human decisions could pose a major challenge. Technological disruption is on the horizon. Work gets automated. Physical and cognitive capabilities of humans are duplicable by inorganic beings–robots and AI. Not much thought still exists in the public arena. Trump still plans to build wall between California and Mexico, when disruptors are right there in the Silicon Valley. Nation states are not equipped to solve international problems. Relevant international organizations have not emerged to handle future problems that stare in our face.
Three next challenges before humanity - Science is moving at break neck pace to solve food and health issues. Nuclear deterrence has made wars obsolete. Three next human problems are threat of nuclear holocaust, environmental degradation and technological disruptions. First two are within our control. We have the solution in a big NO by humanity and change of our attitudes. The third one poses a greater challenge because the progress of science can't be stopped but given direction in favour of humanity. All three are international and inter connected problems that do not have solutions within national boundaries.
Nationalism incapable of solving these new challenges - Nationalism is incapable of solving these grave universal problems. Effective International systems have not been created to handle them. Nationalism is rather putting us in a rat race of development and security mindset that goes against "vasudhaiva kutumbkam".(All the world is a family). This Indian credo has never been more relevant than today. Thinking in nationalistic term would be like digging our head in sand like an ostrich. Unflinching faith in liberalism is our only hope. The educated will have to rise up above narrow confines of the limiting thoughts in the name of human survival and start "Thinking globally and acting locally"
Weak international organizations not ready to take control- Today, humanity again finds itself spread in tribal loyalties along the digital river, much like Chinese tribes along the Hwang Ho, before Chinese nationalism took shape. Like the Chinese nationalism, Internationalism has to grow as potent force to meet the challenges of the future and those confound the present. To the contrary nationalism is on the rise all over the world and extreme right wing element of the society is taking hold. Liberals will have to renew their faith and fight the limiting forces with short term vision, to save humanity in the long run. Peace, harmony and co-existence are values of humanism that ought to be cherished and nurtured in the mind and hearts of all liberals, humanists, rationalists and people with scientific temper around the world.
Deep in my heart I do believe, we shall overcome and learn some day that humanity has a common fate, same mother earth to live on and live and protect it with all our passion.
