We Must Awaken from the Slumber of Servitude

We live in a time when power is heavily concentrated in the hands of a few, be they Big Tech media, mainstream media, multinational corporations, or national governments. A few individuals can decide to declare an emergency, and put their citizens under lockdown. A few individuals can decide who gets to speak, and who does not. A few individuals gathered in a parliament can decide the fate of entire industries. A few individuals in an industry can sway the policies of entire nations.

Of course, unequal power of this sort is almost always dressed up in pretty words and slogans. We are assured that Big Tech companies are private, and thus may censor speech to their hearts’ content. We are reminded that government ministers serve in governments that have been democratically elected to power, or that multinational corporations are the products of the free market. But none of this changes the fact that some people wield an inordinate amount of power over others, and that this sows the seeds, at least potentially, of far-reaching abuses.