‘No such thing as society’: How tech giants are making Thatcher’s dream come true
Tech giants’ attempts to control information, the atomisation of society as people live increasingly online lives and populist politics represent real threats to democracy
The political response to the electoral success of the Reform UK party in England was superficial and predictable. But it also ignored growing evidence of a political revolution now engulfing the world and threatening democracy.
Profit and power-obsessed technology giants, populist political leaders, corporate authoritarianism and the ubiquitous internet are strengthening individualism and undermining the idea of society itself. And this anti-democratic coalition of convenience is boosting the political right along with the grievance culture that it relies upon.
Despite obvious challenges and threats, our political parties appear as bystanders in this unfolding drama.
For some, this may be just the most recent manifestation of capitalism. But this would be a dangerous misreading of an existential threat to democracy. The atomisation of society is underway, compromising ideas about community, collectivism, and social cohesion.
Information controlled by algorithms
The internet has created a remarkable communication, information and education revolution. However, despite affecting the lives of billions of people, much of this virtual world is controlled by just a handful of people. The threats are obvious.
People are now able to access a global community – through a digital lens controlled by algorithms – and may require little or no contact with their local one.
In 2023, the Pew Research Centre in the US published a remarkably insightful paper on the “best and worst changes in digital life by 2035”, as predicted by experts. It outlined potential changes in the nature of politics, the role of individuals and the idea of society. These are worth highlighting:
Digital systems driven by profit and “power incentives” could result in “advanced surveillance and data collection aimed at controlling people rather than empowering them”, increasing inequality and compromising democracy.
The best knowledge risked being lost in a “sea of mis- and disinformation”, with the decimation of institutions “previously dedicated to informing the public”. Amidst “entertaining distractions, bald-faced lies and targeted manipulation”, facts could become increasingly hard to find. “Reality itself is under siege,” the experts warned.
Growing distrust
Reflecting on human health and well-being, some experts said digital systems had already caused high levels of anxiety and depression that “could worsen as technology embeds itself further in people’s lives”. Some mental health problems could stem from “people possibly substituting tech-based experience for real-life encounters”.
The Pew paper also suggested people’s “distrust in each other may grow” and that “faith in institutions may decline”. This could deepen “already undesirable levels of polarisation, cognitive dissonance and public withdrawal from vital public discourse”, with users of technology potentially becoming “captives”.
It’s not hard to see how such dehumanisation of social life through technology could leave society within the grip of a few super-authoritarian tech moguls. This fusion of corporate greed, technology, populist politics and the atomisation of communities poses a real threat, with truth arbitrated by those in power.
The report’s findings should be considered in the context of the debate about individualism and society. The right in British politics has never been comfortable with “society”, with political theorists such as Thomas Hobbes asserting that human beings are fundamentally self-interested.
Political right’s attitude to ‘society’
Friedrich Hayek, the doyen of the conservative right, concluded that society is a term deployed when people “do not quite know what they are talking about”. The most infamous comment on society was made by Margaret Thatcher in an interview for Woman’s Own in 1987 when she said “there is no such thing as society”.
Despite her claims to have been reported out of context, it was a dramatic expression of her thinking. Other Tory leaders have struggled with “society”. Theresa May imagined “a shared society”, John Major talked about a “classless society”, William Hague imagined a “responsible society” and David Cameron opined about the “big society, not the state”.
The internet age and corporate authoritarianism now present a unique threat. A few titans of industry are seeking to deregulate or demolish protections for the vulnerable under the reassuring cover of “free speech”. Cohesive societies and inclusive democracies will be the victims.
Populist leaders have welcomed these developments, which were unimaginable even a few years ago, forming a perfect partnership in a world where messaging is key.
Orwellian dystopia
This is a dream monopoly for some. Tech giants own the companies, control the operation, determine the profits, construct the platforms, oversee the medium, shape the messaging, and even seek to control the tax and regulatory frameworks of the countries in which they operate.
George Orwell’s dystopian visions in 1984 and Animal Farm, which explored the dangers of centralised power and the loss of individual freedom, are becoming a reality and progressive political parties must rethink their mission to counter the populist threat.
Harvard University philosophy professor Michael Sandel, in his 2009 BBC Reith Lecture, talked about “a new politics of the common good” to reframe the political debate around the ideas of the moral limits of the market, a more robust political discourse, new obligations – to each other, community and country – and a new public philosophy. Sandel argued that “market triumphalism” was harmful to the public realm but that we had “not yet found our way to a new governing philosophy”.
Sandel suggested there was a need for a moral and civic renewal in which people think of themselves more as citizens and less as consumers. And he warned that democratic governance is “radically devalued if reduced to the role of handmaiden to the market economy”. “The hollowing out of the public realm makes it difficult to cultivate the sense of community that democratic citizenship requires,” he added.
If we are to avoid the many pitfalls of this digital age, a new approach is vital in order to reshape democracy, make politics matter, defend the idea of society and confront the monopoly control of information.
Henry McLeish is a former First Minister of Scotland
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