New economy, same as the old economy.
In an economy increasingly dependent on the data we generate, it is surely immoral, and I would argue uneconomic, to sanction the insights which can be derived from that asset as somebody else’s private property. And yet that is what we do. The gross inequality which results from this is as predictable as it is lamentable for being avoidable. Those with the insights grow rich by limiting who can take advantage of them, while those without grow increasingly dependent on those who do.
It doesn’t help that Americans choose to lead a wearisome bi-polar existence which offers only two sources of recompense and succour from the scourge of capitalism in the form of government or the market. Republicans or Democrats, iOS or Android: all serve the same master. And it is critical to underscore that last fact by reminding ourselves that inequality — as defined by the ratio of top 1% to bottom 50% share of wealth — has doubled under presidents of both parties in the space of only forty years. America is of course not alone. In the UK, it was Blair and Brown who carried the torch Comrade Thatcher had lit while the Indians, Chinese and Russians chose to embrace a level of thuggery, theft and tyranny which even the leaders of the G7 blanched at pursuing; at least for now.
Our own economic history shows that there is only one remedy for monopolization of a public good, and that is to bust it up. Apple and Facebook have every right to pursue profit, just so long as we are afforded an equally viable pro-social alternative. If platforms can work for capital, they can just as easily work for people.
The challenge of course is that we currently lack that choice. To put it simply, and in direct opposition to a DNA which wires us for cooperation, acting in a pro-social way is much harder and less rewarding under our current system than being selfish and narcissistic. Since the launch of AOL in 1985 (!), anti-social media has conditioned us to behave in increasingly exclusive ways which consume our communities from the inside out: our trust has given way to their Trusts.
Ah, counter libertarians and other free-market types, but there is a choice. if you don’t like Wells Fargo, you can choose a credit union, and if you don’t like Safeway, you can buy your groceries at the local food co-op, to which my response is “exactly”. The former model fails to take advantage of its own membership networks, thereby depriving its members of significantly greater economic benefit, while the latter offers healthier food beyond the means of the majority. Absent real, as opposed to simply digital, transformation, neither approach is sustainable or scalable in a market which greatly favors platforms. To really have a choice, Americans, and anyone else for that matter, must be able to control who benefits from their data: corporations or communities.
It doesn’t have to be either/or. Since the financial catastrophe of 2008/9, opinion polls have shown a clear shift, particularly among those under the age of 45 in favor of an alternative to our current profit-first system. Depending on the poll, that number lies somewhere between 55% and 65% of us. I believe this shift toward the public sphere is also borne out in the number of us who have elected to receive the COVID vaccine, which is, again, a little over 1 in 2. I therefore think it reasonable to conclude that, were they given a choice tomorrow, a majority of Americans would choose that their data benefit family, community and themselves over the pockets of the 1%. Some may not, and that’s ok. They already have plenty of ways to make Mark and Sheryl richer.
In order for us to herald a new economy which isn’t the same as the old economy, we have to confront two essential truths. First, neither the government nor the markets are going to provide us with a solution, which leaves community as the only other location for collective action. Second, it is ideology and not economic or technological constraints which creates inequality. To really break with the old economy, we therefore have to build from a new ideology, one which puts our planet and our community before an ever smaller, and smaller-minded private interest, and that can start with how we treat our data.
Instead of putting profit first, let’s put impact first. Both Wall Street and Main Street will be pleasantly surprised with the result and all we need to start is a change of data ownership. It doesn’t require a vote, or an IPO. It just takes a technology leadership with their hearts, and minds and applications in the right place.
