Regressing in unison

It was believed that human rights would continue to develop on a universal scale. Participation in human rights treaties was rising, the areas they covered were expanding and, more importantly, international mechanisms for combatting human rights abuses were multiplying. Even if classic international law did not concern itself with the way states were governed, democracy was spreading. There was vigorous debate in academic circles about the “right to democracy” numbering among human rights.
The internet was greeted with enthusiasm. The environment for public debate, the basic condition for democracy, gained the opportunity to spread to the base to an extent that had never happened in history. Citizens were able to come together and create pressure groups on both a national and international scale.
Even if from time to time it stumbled, the future of humanity was bright. Human rights-based democracy was on the way to becoming the governmental standard for our planet. The careers of politicians who did not speak of universal principles ended before they had begun.
However, the economic side of things was based on the wishful thinking that the free market economy would solve all problems. As there remained no right or left, there was no need to devote much mental effort to this affair, either.
The result was the global financial crisis. Inequality of income rose to peaks that disturbed even the most zealous neoliberal.
It was human rights and democracy that took quite a blow in the fallout. There has been an egregious regression in human rights and democracy on a global scale. There remains nobody in particular who speaks of universal values or international cooperation. The US President Donald Trump speaks of “making America great again,” the Erdoğan regime speaks of “home-grown and national values,” Hungary’s Viktor Orban of “the merits of illiberal democracies,” and the Brexit front of “taking back control.”
As to the internet, in which great hopes for libertarianism were placed in the period marked by optimism and wishful thinking, it has shown itself to be a tool that is capable of being used for purposes that are precisely to the contrary.
WikiLeaks’ cooperation with the authoritarian Russian regime and Cambridge Analytica’s manipulation in the US elections and the UK referendum came as the first pointers. The imprisoning of everyone within a network of those who resemble them on social media was one of the tokens of an era in which nations had been split down the middle into two.
It is now the turn of authoritarian and totalitarian regimes to use “big data”.
It is no secret that whenever we go on the internet we leave a trace. These traces are gathered, collated and processed somewhere. Social media companies and commerce sites use this data.
According to Wired magazine, China is determined to go one step further in the use of this data. The country is embarking on a compulsory Social Credit System in 2020. All citizens will have a rating. This rating will increase or decrease according to your social media posts and behaviour. For example, if you praise the government, it will increase, and if you criticise, it will decrease. If you are friends on social media with opposition people, it will decrease and if you play computer games too much, it will decrease. If you buy nappies, it will increase because you will be considered to be a responsible person.
Based on this rating, your internet speed may slow or the school where your child can get a place may change. If the rating increases, you may be able to get unbacked financial loans or your profile will rise further on online matchmaking sites. The system is currently in the testing stage on a voluntary basis. But, it will be compulsory in 2020.
This year Turkey came crashing down in Freedom House’s internet freedom report to end up very close to China.
The danger is manifest and great. To an extent, the explanation also lies here for the degree of popularity courted by dystopia in literature and film.
The world is in a phase of regression and the great test for humanity will be to turn this round.