an article by Joe Mitchell (Democracy Club) published in IPPR Progressive Review Volume 25 Issue 4 (Spring 2019)
Introduction
In his 1932 novel, Brave New World, Aldous Huxley imagined a society utterly changed by technology: a utopia or dystopia, depending on your point of view. It is not uncommon to see commentators compare it with George Orwell's 1984 and suggest that Huxley more accurately ‘predicted’ today.
Has technology and modern consumer capitalism left us unthinking, uncritical beings blissfully and blindly stumbling through life? Are we living in a utopia or a dystopia as a result of terrific technological advance over the last decades? Or is this to overstate the case for the level of change so far wrought by technology?
“Over the last few years, the narrative of opportunity for a better democracy has faltered in the face of reality”
This debate has gone on in the domain of democracy for decades, where conflicting visions of ‘digital democracy’ abound. Over the last few years, the narrative of opportunity for a better democracy has faltered in the face of reality. Dystopian visions are in the ascendant. But if we can remain cognisant of, yet not bowed by, the risks presented by digital technology, there remains a case for cautious optimism.
Full text (PDF 8pp)
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