The Second World War changed the face of the world in the 1940s. Today, the Human Civilisation is yet again facing a global crisis. However, the current crisis is not limited to battlefields. Human Civilisation recently overcame the COVID-19 Pandemic, although the Coronavirus claimed millions of lives across the globe.

Meanwhile, no one knows how many people would be able to fight against the new crisis. The solution, too, is largely unknown. People thought that the times began to change after the fall of Dictatorial Regimes and Socialism in the 20th Century. In the late 20th Century, various leaders managed to convince people that the Neo-Liberal Economy would bring positive changes to society. People expected that the governments would respect Democracy in socio-economically developed nations.

Unfortunately, the old Authoritarian Regime has returned in a new form at different places in the first two decades of the 21st Century. The new political leadership receives support from a few powerful business tycoons. These tycoons are just 1% of the total population. However, they control the rest of the 99% of people in various ways. This extreme polarisation is one of the reasons for the crisis of civilisation today. One can find a nexus between the authoritarian political leadership and the super-rich businessmen in many countries. People have to understand this equation, and to solve it. Else, all the countries shall gradually move towards destruction. Today, it is not enough to think only of Old and Neo ideologies, as the current problems are closely connected with the entire society and economic supermarket.

Strange as it may sound, one of the reasons for this new crisis is the immense and rapid expansion of civilisation in the last few decades. A lot of progress has been made in the fields of agriculture, industry, science, technology, etc., benefitting human civilisation. At the same time, the progress has intensified economic, as well as social, stratification. Wealth and power, too, have become polarised. All these have brought scourge in human lives. People are so busy with their own problems that they do not realise that the politicians they have voted for are involved in corruption. Taking advantage of this situation, the politicians are creating propaganda in their favour on the basis of people’s weaknesses.

Political leaders do not give people a chance to understand the root cause of their suffering. Instead, they are highlighting other sensitive issues, like the issue of migration, as the real problem. Thus, they inject the poison of hatred into society. As a result, people blame others for their economic distress. The idea of others is based on nationality, race, religion, complexion, etc. One of the tactics of this Divide and Rule policy is to get approval of (the ruler’s) wrongdoing from people and to spread propaganda. Online and offline media are playing an important role in getting this approval.

Apart from corruption, people are also suffering from impacts of Climate Change. Ice sheets are melting in polar regions, carbon dioxide levels are constantly increasing, incidents of earthquakes, storms, tsunamis, wildfires are increasing, and summer and winter are becoming extreme. Experts are of the opinion that nature will claim many lives in the coming years. Also, more people shall become refugees. Politicians do not bother about these issues. Instead, they try to cover up the real issues through propaganda in this complex and critical situation. They further create an atmosphere of fear in order to divert people’s attention.

Today’s greatest paradox is Science! Artificial Intelligence (AI), the new tool of science, shall certainly increase social stratification in the coming years. A few people will reap the benefits of this technological progress, while most of the people will become unemployed. Yuval Noah Harari, the Israeli public intellectual, historian and Professor of History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, has already predicted this situation. He has claimed that society will create some super humans who will be at the top of the economy, and all the other people will be lying at the bottom.

In order to avoid this situation, change should be brought about in the political, economic and social contexts. People would have to depend on students and youths to trigger this change. It may be noted that the younger generation triggered the Black Lives Matter Movement in the US before the Pandemic. In a similar fashion, the Indian students called for unity against the National Register of Citizens (NRC; a register containing the names of Indian citizens), and Greta Thunberg created public opinion throughout the world about the Climate Movement.

People need to find alternative energies in accordance with the Climate Agreement, to ensure social implementation of health policies, and to rescue the economy that has become heavily dependent on Wall Street. Scientists should also practice humanity and follow ethics. Otherwise, clever politicians would take full control of the world. Hard-line rulers are all set to return to power, and to bring back the bloody history of hatred and violence. One should have faith in people’s foresight at this juncture.

Boundless Ocean of Politics on Facebook

Boundless Ocean of Politics on Twitter

Boundless Ocean of Politics on Linkedin

Contact: kousdas@gmail.com

Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das