The former Chief of Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service credits the secrets-spilling site WikiLeaks for helping spark the revolutions in the Middle East.
“Really, what ties these two events together, and of course a number of other events,” says the ex-MI6 boss, “is the diffusion of power away from the states, and the empowerment of individuals and small groups of individuals, by technology.”
The diffusion of power. That’s what I’m talking about. Using technology to shift the balance of power, making it so everyone has a chance to get their voice heard. Real, functioning democracy.
Too many of us have been duped into believing that democracy means picking politician A or B every few years, when it should mean more than just having the right to vote. Democracy is about being able to dictate what actually gets voted upon, and this is precisely what we’ve been missing for too long.
Right now, so much of the world’s power and influence is allowed to concentrate in the hands of the few at the top. This tiny group of individuals, with their vastly disproportionate amount of the world’s wealth, have a much larger say in how humankind’s political and economic systems function. And, you just know they’re gonna use their power to keep themselves firmly perched at the top.
So, on one side we have a few people with tremendous wealth and power. On the other side, we have a monstrously large group of people who demand their fair share of the pie, and who’ve finally gained the means to let their collective voices be heard.
Therein lies the coming revolution.
Humankind is entering a new era, where unity and cooperation can effectively counterbalance the earth’s old oligarchies. As we take the power back, we’ll use it to redistribute wealth and power, and ensure an increasingly just global civilization.
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Tags: democracy, people, power, revolution
