“Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner.” -James Bovard
It is easy to focus on the negative consequences of technological advancements. That is how the human brain often responds to change and unpredictability. But let us instead start looking at all the great things that are happening with rapid development. We may not be appreciating our present world as much as it deserves.
Imagine a world without any technology. How many centuries do you think it would take to achieve what we are able to today? These days anyone, anywhere can come up with a breakthrough. You can connect with virtually everyone including the top experts in every field. You don’t need any special appointments or connections. If you have a really great idea and the capability to implement it, then everyone will welcome you without looking at your gender, class, caste or background. You can voice your opinion easily and if you have an original viewpoint, you will be taken seriously. This is my definition of democracy. For developing countries like India, technology is a real blessing. It is fast narrowing the gap between us and the most developed countries. Elimination of inequality, corruption, and caste- and muscle-based politics is only possible if we harness its power intelligently. Without technology, we can’t tackle any problem irrespective of how many great leaders we produce. Technology is not biased. Open source is open source for everyone. It does not discriminate.
Real democracy is coming. It is on the way.