IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - December 2020 - 9

every progressive or liberal idea
logical innovations likely to
as a fundamental threat to civilizahave social repercussions,
tion: targeting minorities and scaresome arrangement whereby
mongering (looking backwards) is
human beings may once more
the last refuge for those have no
be able to recover their roots "
policy besides preserving their own
[1, p. 52].
position, power, and status, and the
vested interests of the clique that
Beyond overcoming this same
they represent (rather than public
set of obstacles, the challenge is
or national interests). Without conalso, what can be done, with techfronting these delusions, there can
nology and by technologists, so
be no meaningful unifying national
that people feel rooted, culturally
program of spiritual, political and cultural renewal.
For the sentiment of
justice, this obstacle is being
increasingly entrenched as
How could technology be used for
supposedly democratic political regimes are usurped by
the restoration of roots?
those who arrogate power
and control for themselves
but exclude responsibility and
and spiritually, to their environment
accountability for their decisions;
and community, and have positive
by those who have one conception
expectations for the future. We offer
of what, for example, " privacy, "
five recommendations here (there
" law-abiding , " a nd " tax-paying "
are surely more).
means for themselves, and a comFirstly, it is essential to address
pletely different conception of these
the " digital divide. " In the 2019
social concepts (and social obligaU.K. General Election, the Labour
tions) for others. For the idolization
Party's manifesto proposal of uniof money, this obstacle too is being
versal Internet access through 5G
made higher by widening individual
broadband connectivity was deridand regional inequality: while it is
ed as " crazed communism, " but it is
generally preferable to have some
essential for citizens to participate
money and not need it, than need
fully (and to grow roots in) the " Digisome money and not have it, it is
tal Society. "
also possible to make significant
S e c o n d l y, w e n e e d p l a t achievements relying solely on
for ms to support local collective
non-monetary conceptual resources
action. There are two possible
phoenixes that may emerge from
(such as trust and social capital). On
the Covid-19 crisis: one is the atathe issue of lack of religious inspivistic return of the pre-Covid " busiration, Weil made much of the spiriness as usual, " but exacerbated
tuality in and of labor: there is little
by techno -feudalism or disaster
inspiration of any kind to be had in
capitalism [26]. The other is that
" McJobs " or other forms of meanthere is a general unwillingness for
ingless work [25] in the absence of
its return: people could see potencollectivization, profit-sharing, or
tial benefits from increased neighother social incentivization that creborhood cooperation, improved air
ates roots.
quality, the need for climate action
and environmental protection,
" We must keep well to the fore
increased taxation if that meant
in any political, legal or techno-

The second characteristic was
that the debate preceding the vote
and in dealing with its aftermath was
marked by not just by a lack of civility and wilful misinformation, but
it was further fueled by a polarized
rage, hatred, and vitriol which frequently manifested itself as threats
of violence, a licensing of anti-immigrant hostility, and in extremis, the
political assassination of Labour MP
Jo Cox. One interpretation, then, of
the Brexit vote and the attitudes it
unleashed is that it was a displacement activity that gave free rein to
expressions of violence by those
who were already uprooted by financial, educational, cultural, regional,
technological and, rather than immigration, neo-colonial exclusion; and
specifically targeted at those who
were perceived to have roots, and in
particular those with multiple root
systems who saw themselves as
European as much as British.
Weil wrote:
" four obstacles above all sepa-
rate us from a form of civilisa-
tion likely to be worth some-
thing: our false conception of
greatness; the degradation of
the sentiment of justice, our
idolisation of money; and our
lack of religious inspiration "
[1, p. 216].
It would seem that this quartet is
still with us, even eighty years later.
The delusion of greatness, can be
seen in the empty (but admittedly
and depressingly effective in its
appeal to the uprooted) sloganeering of " Make [Insert Country Here]
Great Again, " " Take Back Control, " " Make [Insert Country Here]
Great Again (Again), " " Get Brexit
Done, " and so on. In particular, the
U.K. remains deluded by its contradictory twin myths of English
exceptionalism and European victimization [24], while demonizing
DECEMBER 2020

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IEEE TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY MAGAZINE

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IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - December 2020

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