Simon Kuper (Magazine, Life & Arts, February 22) has indeed come rather late to the realisation that the dissolution of our world into digital information, sold and controlled by extractive capitalists with no purpose but maximising profit, has not been a totally unmixed blessing.
But his focus is narrow and seems only to reflect the experience of those of us in the “global minority”. If he were to shift his gaze to other parts of the world, he might find more encouraging news. There, digital innovation gives people in poor and isolated communities not just connectivity but a way for governments to pay them directly, bypassing often corrupt local officials. Digital wallets in Thailand, for example, have enabled 14.5mn social welfare recipients to receive cash transfers in the past six months and the same thing is happening in Indonesia and many other countries.
The global south is deploying renewables twice as fast as the north, including using “hyperlocal” hubs where individuals can share, buy and sell their own solar. And let’s not even begin with healthcare, where technology both produces solutions and disseminates vital information.
It goes without saying that these are countries whose populations manage to squander far fewer of the Earth’s resources, with tiny per capita carbon emissions compared with ours.
It’s not news that western capitalism is in difficulties; maybe it’s just time for others to thrive.
Sheila Hayman
Advisory Board, Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy, London, UK