In the aftermath of Trump’s emphatic win, an intelligent and wise friend reminded me that the world seems on an unstoppable drive “to jump to the right”. I have been reading many articles as to why there is an unstoppable wave among western democracies to favour right-wing populist parties.
To be honest there seems to be a plethora of reasons. From constant instability brought from the 2008/9 financial crisis onwards, to lack of performance by mainstream political parties, to instability brought over by the pandemic and the post-pandemic wars, to inflation, to immigration…and the list goes on.
However, one such analysis, which caught my eye, is based on the use of social media to spread populist and far-right rhetoric, especially to younger generations. Each election makes it increasingly evident that traditional media’s influence is steadily fading, while social media continues to become ever more powerful. The recent US presidential campaign is yet another testament to this trend.
This means that when populist parties use social media to present simplistic solutions for issues related to rising cost-of-living, unaffordable housing, a collapsing ecosystem and perpetual warfare, they are likely to get their message through rather efficiently. Moreover, such messages by populist parties continue to enforce a message of pessimism regarding the capacity of established politics to solve real, structural problems, creating in turn a fertile soil for far-right parties peddling dangerously false solutions.
I recently started reading the book Power and Progress, authored by the 2024 Nobel Prize winners in Economics, Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson. The authors describe how thousand years of history make it abundantly clear that progress is not automatic but depends on the choices we make about technology. New ways of organising production and communication can either serve the narrow interests of an elite or become the foundation for widespread prosperity. The book argues that so far digital technologies and artificial intelligence have increased inequality and have undermined democracy through massive data collection and intrusive surveillance. Pertinently, the tremendous computing advances of the last half century can become empowering and democratising tools, but not if all major decisions remain in the hands of a few hubristic tech leaders striving to build a society that elevates their own power and prestige.
This suggests that, beyond concerns about figures like Trump, the world should focus on managing the immense power held by individuals like Elon Musk today. Tesla CEO Elon Musk spent election night at Mar-a-Lago with Trump’s inner circle. In recent weeks, Musk emerged as one of Trump’s most vocal and deep-pocketed supporters. Now, with Trump set to return to the White House, Musk might even be tapped for a position in the administration. According to their plans, he’s slated to head a newly-formed “efficiency commission”, with the power to recommend wide-ranging cuts at federal agencies and changes to federal rules. That would essentially give the world’s richest man and a major government contractor the power to regulate the regulators who hold sway over his companies, amounting to a potentially enormous conflict of interest and immense power.
It seems that the worst nightmares of the 2024 Noble prize winners in Economics are likely to come true.