Leonardo Radomile is an author and political consultant, in addition to having contributed to several news outlets. In this article Radomile talks about the troubling trends he sees with government corruption.
Leonardo Radomile explains we live in an interesting time, so interesting that some have described it as an axial moment, a time when the change taking place is so complete that it produces conditions totally unlike those that preceded it. I, for one, support this conclusion if for no other reason than all of our major institutions have become so corrupt or inept that they can no longer meet the needs of an ever changing society.
Consider the condition of those institutions that so many rely on. The term “Institutes of Higher Learning” now drips with irony at a time when ideas are suppressed and students are indoctrinated rather than educated, emerging with useless degrees and crushing debts. The major organs of government that are supposed to keep us safe and free, the FBI, CIA, and the Justice Department, have become so politicized that they now surveil and put on watch lists individuals and groups who actively dissent from the narrative of those in power and use the power of government to limit freedom; and the legacy and social media, once platforms for the free exchange of ideas, have now become megaphones for those in power, drowning out alternative viewpoints.
Leonardo Radomile notes when the institutions that we have come to rely on no longer serve us and at times even seem to oppose us, society becomes unstable and people suffer from the resulting chaos. Nonetheless, this also provides an opportunity for positive change as people adapt to the new conditions and innovative solutions emerge.
Consider the Covid lockdown. As the experience of Florida and Sweden have shown and clinical outcomes have indicated, it was a massive failure that did real damage to the health, economy, and the education of children. It was government overreach and ineptitude at their best. Nonetheless, the adaptations that resulted have opened a whole new set of individual and social possibilities.
Remote working literally changed the way of life for millions. Since work location no longer mattered there was no longer any reason for many workers to live in crowded cities with high rents, particularly those with high crime rates and homeless populations. For so many, they now had choices. This combined with continually innovating technology ushered in an era of an even more mobile society where many workers could choose not only the city or town but even the country that they live in.
Leonardo Radomile says one result of relocation has been greater polarization. Red states became redder and blue states became bluer. Many consider this undesirable, but it has also increased the choices that people have with a resulting increase in freedom. For the first time many people literally have the ability to choose the kind of government that they live under and given the number of states and international locations the choices are both varied and large.
Polarization has also produced new social configurations. People more and more look to associate with those who are like minded, avoiding the unpleasantness and even strife with those who pursue their opinions with an inquisitorial zeal. Why take the risk of associating with those you think will demonize you rather than those who will enforce your beliefs?
With mobility, tribalization, and the vast opportunities for innovation that ever evolving technology provides, it may be possible that as our current institutions become more oppressive and inept, new social and economic configurations will emerge no longer limited by the constraints of the past. We may see a future of tribal groups free to roam to those places where they are treated best. Governments may even have to begin competing for the best residents.
Leonardo Radomile thinks that the possibilities of the future encourage hope, but it will only be a hope realized if each of us realizes what is available to us and chooses accordingly. After all, it is we who create the future or as Abraham Lincoln once said: “The best way to anticipate the future is to create it”.
