I am writing this I wonder Like many people, I am struggling to make sense of it all. […]
Category: Democracy
First, let me say that any type of racism, sexism, or any other discrimination is unequivocally damaging and […]
Crypto currencies have been hailed as the future of money, thanks to it’s decentralized, fast, and global nature […]
Political correctness in any language is a debated topic. Politicians resign after using racial slurs. Popular children’s books […]
Political polarization is not only a problem of the US’ two-party system. Populism and the rise of right wing parties all over the world is contributing immensely to divided societies. There are divides on local, national, and international levels. Black Lives Matter versus Blue Lives Matter, right-wing versus mainstream politicians, China versus US.
Communication between opposite sides seems more and more difficult every day. This is very visible on social media, where objective discussions quickly turn into personal fights and streams of insults. But that is not how you create productive political discussion. Why is that and how can we solve it?
According to The Economist, it is accepted widespread knowledge, that inequality has increased. However, when looking at the data and accounting for changes in demographics (such as marital status), economic inequality has actually remained constant over the past decades (Check out the Economist’s The Intelligence Podcast from Dec 03, 2019: With allies like these: NATO’s bickering leaders hold a summit). Why has rising inequality become general knowledge, while the data is not clear on it? Because the actual inequality doesn’t matter as much as the effects of it and the effects of inequality might have actually changed significantly over the past decades.
Since Edward Snowden, we know how much intelligence agencies, especially the US’ and its allied intelligence agencies, collect about ordinary citizens. Nothing is private and everyone can become the target. Is that something we should be worried about? Should we be worried about the absolute power enjoyed by intelligence agencies? If so, why isn’t anyone doing anything about it?
First, it needs to be said that I am a strong supporter of Winston Churchill’s statement: “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time”. I fully believe in the value of democracy and I would not want to have it any other way. But, recent events in democratic countries have allowed for doubt that the intelligence of the masses will guide humanity safely and peacefully through time: the rise of right wing parties in Europe and a general disenchantment with politics.