The most important modern technology that will help us bring about a voluntary society is already flourishing: the internet. Many people described it as revolutionary when the internet forever changed the way we communicate, shop, navigate, and research – and it was – but that was just the beginning! The internet is still in its infancy and rapidly evolving. Society is just starting to feel its effects. Governments understand the threat of the internet and have made various attempts to control it. Some large governments have already gone to great lengths to curb its impact, but this is a losing battle. However, we must remain vigilant to any attempts to stifle the free flow of information to ensure this most powerful tool can be fully utilized as a force for positive change.
Simply as a tool to increase productivity, the internet is an unstoppable force. Those of us with unfettered access take for granted how having such a wealth of information readily available makes life easier and more efficient in so many ways. Thanks to smart phones connected to the internet, even our conversations have become more effective as we don’t have to “debate facts” any more. Comparison shopping has reduced profit margins and made the market far more competitive. When someone figures out the solution to a problem, it can be shared around the world nearly instantaneously.
The global connectedness created by the internet is already making it more difficult to exploit us. Wars are always based on lies, and while governments still can and do lie, this is much more difficult. In government indoctrination centers known as public schools, kids with smart phones can directly challenge their instructors. Most children with internet access already know they can learn far more from turning to the internet instead of government.
The internet is causing the collapse of nationalism. Governments took advantage of the tendency for local pride and convinced their people that their country was the best at everything and governments were the reason. Governments never let the facts get in the way of a good story, but the internet has a way of inserting undeniable facts into the conversation that temper national pride. The fact that everyone with a smart phone can record and fact check the lies of politicians, then share their findings with the world, has already made governing much more difficult. It used to be very easy to lie and get away with it, but not in the age of the internet!
Governments have relied on their control of the media to control the conversation. This includes everything from keeping facts away from us to distorting irrepressible stories. In the age of the internet, control of the conversation has been decentralized. Anyone with a story to tell or facts to share can get online and challenge the official narrative. In order to maximize the benefit of the internet, it is important to support independent media. Centralized control of the conversation is also being rapidly eroded by the phenomenon of sharing through social networks. No longer does a central authority decide what information is important. This is not just a new sharing of values and perspectives, but a new filter for relevance.
Many large governments have sought to control the internet because they know that shutting it down entirely, now that we are aware of its benefits, is impossible. They will always exercise as much control as they can, and it is quite efficient because they can control the internet through central hubs. Soon, these types of controls will no longer work because the internet will be decentralized, but governments can poison the conversation in many other ways. One of the internet’s greatest assets is its ability to capture a broad reaction in public comment sections. Governments hire people to sit behind computers all day with multiple false identities to get us to think, for example, that everyone loves something that government just did. While governments have no problem stealing the money necessary to hire armies of spammers, some have invested in “sock-puppet” software so one person can swarm a conversation with multiple fake profiles. To use this in any capacity is a fraud, but because governments are based on the fraud that we need them in the first place, it makes perfect sense that they would have an interest in this technology. As the internet continues to evolve, the sock-puppets might be filtered out, but not without a degree of vigilance from those who value the integrity of the conversation.
Sometimes for worse, but overall much more often for better, the anonymity of the internet allows us to say things we might be afraid to say “in real life.” The therapeutic effect of this cannot be underestimated as millions have already benefited from support communities that were impossible before the internet. We can challenge the status quo in ways never imagined and speak out without fear of retribution. This should inspire us to be more conscious consumers of information. Governments depend on lies and deception to maintain their rackets, but now, we have the “truth button” at our fingertips!
