About the world of today…
The world we knew in the 20th century no longer exists. Much has changed since the end of the Second World War. Appliances such as front-loading washing machines and automatic dishwashers were just being introduced then. While the first electronic black-and-white televisions were already introduced in Europe in the United Kingdom and Germany in the 1930s, it took at least another twenty years before they became commonplace, as more and more countries began broadcasting their first television programmes. In 1969, the Advance Research Projects Agency Network (APRANET) was built by the United States Department of Defense. It was a network no larger than four computers. The network expanded and became international in 1973. In 1982, interconnected networks were born, called ‘internet’. In 1989, the World Wide Web was invented by Tim Berners-Lee. After the first browser was brought to market by Marc Andreessen in 1993, Berners-Lee founded the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). In 2003, LinkedIn became the first social media platform. Many platforms followed. Rapid rises in stock valuations in the technology and internet sector led to overenthusiasm among investors, causing the dot-com bubble recession in 2001.
Hyperconnected global economy
The introduction of the internet has significantly changed the world economy. Twenty-one percent of GDP growth in developed countries between 2016 and 2021 is thanks to the internet. In 2024, the digital economy accounted for fifteen percent of global GDP and continues to grow. In just a few decades, the internet has transformed the world into a hyperconnected global economy that affects how we live, how we work, how we socialise and how countries further develop, and it will do this at an ever-increasing pace, with artificial intelligence at the lead. This will not only introduce opportunities but also new challenges. In 2023, ninety percent of all countries worldwide had a digital strategy or were at least working on one.
The price that is called disconnection
Although it seems that a large number of people have become wealthier through industrialisation, in 1900 the richest ten percent already earned almost sixty percent of global income, and this inequality still persists today. However, a large part of the world’s population seems to have acquired material wealth, you might wonder if most of that wealth will ever really be owned by them, since the most expensive possessions are also taxed the most over a lifetime. Apart from material wealth, the world population has generally become quite disconnected from themselves, their social and natural environment. Is that price worth it? Ultra-processed foods and environmental (invisible) pollution have flooded the world. It has endangered our physical and mental health, and with that our connection with each other and our natural environment.
Industrialised diseases
What is called communicable diseases and non-communicable diseases is actually just the other side of the same coin: industrialisation. During the approximately 200,000 years that humans lived as hunter-gatherers there were no communicable or non-communicable diseases as we know them today. The communicable diseases in developing countries are not due to a lack of sanitation or clean drinking water, but due to a disruption of their communities and way of life. This alteration created the need for ‘modern’ sanitation facilities and clean drinking water. The natural balance in these countries was traded for cheap labour in name of industrialisation. The non-communicable diseases in developed countries are not the result of a lack of personal discipline, but of disappeared knowledge and an almost complete replacement of healthy foods with ultra-processed foods, and the introduction of a rat-race economy in which healthy food, rest, sleep, exercise, social contacts, and family life are increasingly seen as unproductive and undesirable. Inequality seems to have benefited a few, at the expense of many. Step by step through history, our ancestors, all indigenous peoples, were (in)directly driven from their land to live in the so-called promised land called ‘city’.
Total standardisation of life
Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, not only products and services have been standardised, but also people and their living spaces, choices, and thoughts. In doing so, we have deprived ourselves of the space in all aspects of our lives that is vital for developing in a healthy and connected way. It is also the reason why the intellectual quotient of younger generations is decreasing: in the systems, including the education system, that we as humans have built, there is no longer room for healthy natural behaviour and variation among people. The smartest children are no longer allowed to develop within the current education system. The digitalisation of the world economy completes this total standardisation.
A fragile modern world
The macro scale, as in the hyperconnected global economy, has become more important than human health, well-being, human development, human social connections, and the natural environment. Everything is so hyperconnected that even a small disruption is deeply felt in every aspect of our lives. Just imagine what impact a recession, a geopolitical conflict, or a war would have. It is becoming increasingly common to experience that kind of disruption. Are even the most capable politicians under these circumstances able to govern the world of today in a responsible way?
Who are we to blame?
In every crisis, the many suffer increasingly, while the few prosper. For the few, it does not matter if there is a disruption, unless the majority of people begin to raise their voices. Unless the majority refuses to support the global system that we all and our ancestors once built. However, since the world population is disconnected from itself, their social and natural environment, one might even wonder if humanity can afford sudden societal disturbances. At this point, can politicians worldwide still afford to listen to the people, but can they also afford to not listen? What if in the current global economic system in which we live, prioritising people’s daily needs over decision-making about the just-in-time global economy would mean that all people would suffer even more, for example through economic instability, and thereby hunger, and death? And what if politicians would (have) do(ne) what this world and humanity really need(ed) in order to prosper in the future as well, would you (have) re-elect(ed) them? Doing the right thing does not mean that it is always fun, on the contrary.
Humanity at a crossroad
Humanity is at a crossroad. We are all in the same boat. What if the only way is for all of us to start taking responsibility for our own health, our own lives, for our social and natural environment? Not by disrupting the current system, but by step by step, consistently and without complaining, building a new foundation from the current system, and transforming it into a new system of connected people, in a connected social and natural environment. What if the longer we refuse to take responsibility, the harder it will get to turn the tide without major losses? If you choose to do nothing or go on like you did before instead of transforming, you are sure to get more of what you do not want.
Negativity versus positivity
While social media unites people, they divide people at the same time, while most of us ultimately all long for the same thing. Social media have also become a geopolitical weapon that can control the masses and destabilise countries. Social media have the power to let us believe that the entire world is corrupt, while we all know deep down that is a lie. Yes, there is evil in the world, but there is also a lot of good in the world. People on social media increasingly only seem to interact with content they fully agree upon. They stop being curious about other opinions. Is that the right way to go? Is it not more constructive to meet each other in real life and start building systems that support all life on Earth, including ourselves, instead of sharing our aggression and frustrations on the socials? Life is finite. Why waste it on negativity, while at the same time you could be doing so much more positive every day. If we had done that since 2020, imagine what the world would have looked like right now. What we do with our time is our own choice, and with that our full responsibility.
Transforming ourselves
Change does not begin with passivity, whining, aggression, but with the personal choice of each of us to act differently from now on and to transform ourselves. The world will follow. Stop underestimating your circle of influence.
©FPM
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This article is part of FPM blog. FPM blog is offered to readers by Free People Media through subscriptions to #INFORMED, #CONNECTED, and #CONNECTEDPREMIUM. FPM blog is about overthinking human nature and its footmark from a distance. For instance, why is the world of today as it is? It can also involve a series of articles about a certain topic, like past articles about the smart city concept. This series is still available to read for (new) subscribers.
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