Doge (Dodge) Ball - The High Tech Bounce
by J. Meeds
While we need a radical transformation in our society as far as social change goes, what is happening today is far from the ideal circumstances.
In another era when the socialist election victories put Mitterrand in power in the early 1980s, he proposed extensive nationalization of (((banks))) and other changes to France's increasingly uncompetitive industrial conglomerates in order to maintain employment levels and aid the process of economic reconstruction. Although this is coming from a totally different political direction than what is now happening in the United States, it does have some relevance today in the nature of the rapid and drastic change that is taking place in the U.S. There was elation for some, and for others almost a panic of sorts at first among the French population at the time, especially with the idea of the nationalization of the (((banks))), yet very little actually took place and Mitterrand soon made a U-turn on his socialist agenda.
What we can take from this today is that although the picture seems gloomy at the moment, there is still much to be seen as to what develops and there are many reasons to be hopeful. First of all, the idea of efficiency in government ought to be further analyzed. Although that concept may make sense in the private sector, it makes little sense in providing the social and other services that governments usually provide. Also, there seem to be other motives for what they are attempting to do with government agencies other than the stated one of efficiency. At the same time, one needs to say here we are critical of efficiency as an end goal in this context, as there are other values at stake in the world of work.
In addition, do we really want everything privatized? The military, the police, the public parks, the courts, etc.? One has got to remember that the word/concept of bureaucracy is of French origin which was designed as having specific rules and procedures to ensure another type of efficiency and to counter the charismatic authority of leaders that we see in today's world.
Moreover, the Silicon Valley hi-tech companies are very much a part of what is now taking place. They have now shown their true colors and have moved very much in the direction of an unholy alliance with the new Republican administration. Interesting enough here is that the new administration is planning on somehow linking the U.S. treasury with cryptocurrencies. They are very much putting themselves in a position where they may be hacked at some point.
Furthermore, it is not just about hacking. It is more about a cultural shift and moving to a low-tech mode and continuing to develop a neo-Luddite critique of how we use technology.
For some reason, technology is something that is all around us, yet it does not necessarily seem to actually help us achieve our end goals. We need it instead to serve and empower the people, rather than to be used in an exploitative manner as at present. Instead of just having some kind of tech humanism though, let's have more of us just get off the tech platforms as much as possible and carry the struggle against digital capitalism in all of its present formats. It seems to be the ultimate hoax: those who brought us Internet addiction and its related issues now portray themselves as having the solutions to the problems of governance in today's society.
The "enemy," if one would were to define such a thing, would certainly be found in what is happening with the Silicon Valley folks these days. There is also some type of a misplaced idea that the tech startup entrepreneurs are some kind of heroes who are to be emulated and admired, when in reality they become more like the robber barons of the early 19th century.
Those in the current Republican administration have gotten there by doubling down on social media and the Internet, as opposed to their adversary who spent huge amounts of funds on (((traditional media outlets))). However, that and their overuse and reliance on using hi-tech in general is very much a vulnerability and is something that can and may be used against them. Their successful use of hi-tech and social media in the general election also helps explain why they are coming down so hard on the (((mass media))) communication that existed before the Internet - in that they wish to marginalize it and possibly destroy it.
Also, the (((war in Ukraine))) has definitely changed the view of the tech world towards technology and military-related projects. Over the last five years, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon have earned billions of dollars from DoD contracts and the U.S. government is the largest buyer of IT products in the world. It is also interesting to note that, as of the time of writing this article, the latest bill passed by Congress to keep the government up and running (which was supported by the Republican administration) had an increase for defense spending. It seems every part of government is a target for reduction in spending except DoD!
In sum, even though living in a capitalistic society has a profound effect on our ways of thinking and being that shapes our relationship with others, the ball is now in our court. We can begin to think about all of the creative methodologies that we could use to disrupt their work. This article is a work of fiction and is not asking anyone to do or not do anything other than to interpret our experiences in political activism as an engaging activity.