While traversing through moments of life, the world which was handed over must be given back in a slightly better way to the coming generation. This is a very simple philosophy to lead one’s life, but most don’t follow rather don’t think about the outcomes of their actions. Most lead their life to accumulate their own wealth, power and influence. In doing so, most don’t realize the impact which they are creating on the coming generations. Even in today’s world, it is heart-wrenching to note that equality, freedom, nature, conservation and resource sharing remain a myth. The decision to leave a world a better place lies within us. The decision to embrace new ideologies, technologies and ideas need courage and open-mindedness. The decision to develop a more humane and caring society needs a better understanding of human vulnerabilities and weaknesses.
The choice to leave the world a better place is perhaps easy for people who have exposure and awareness. The irony remains that while some don’t understand human development others don’t want to move away from orthodoxy and traditional thinking. The challenge is to create awareness and make people understand that world can be a better place if one starts embracing new ideas and technological breakthroughs. New business models will emerge which will not only benefit the old school but will also help create opportunities for the masses at large.
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The need for new economic and social structures
The first and foremost to the development of new social and economic structures in education. Education for all is a must to create awareness and empathy towards fellow humans. Education can bring about tolerance, gender equality and environmental conservation etc. Moreover, people can only benefit from technology once they are able to understand and use it seamlessly. The one benefit of living in the information age is that now knowledge can disseminate to the masses easily and each one of us can have easy access to varied knowledge and skills. The world has become a global village and there is dire need to learn from the happy states and cultures.
Unfortunately, our forefathers have not been able to create a clear focus on the happiness of people, but they were able to bring industrial and informational change to us. They were able to break the myths and scientific and engineering revolutions during the last century now pave the way for us to create a better life for all. Loads of new thinking came in for a better lifestyle for all.
Mankind has graduated from bonded slavery to renumerated servants, from women being a possession to becoming essential and useful citizens, from zero awareness about the planet’s ecosystem to being highly aware of ecology changes. More and more societies are moving towards egalitarianism, democracy and the social welfare of their citizens. There has been astronomicaland fundamental change in the thought process in the countries and societieseven where education and awareness levels are not so high.
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The information revolution is making it far easier for societies and the masses to evolve
The poor and backward countries are also forced to act in the interest of people. The status quo elite seems helpless in front of the barrage of information, and they understand sooner than later they will have to change the way they govern their people. No matter, how they spin the facts or rationalize lies in the mainstream media, they just cannot control the information flow. The wisdom demands to change according to the will of the people and make amends in the ruling structures for the welfare of people and societies.
The thought to hand over a better future to the next generation can just get lost by the greed of a few people. The era of the internet and its easy access through mobile phones is building change and people are now getting more and more aware of their rights. People now see and compare different cultures, lifestyles and societies. Myths and traditions are being broken every day. It’s now becoming essential even for kingdoms and dictatorial regimes to show respect to human values and liberties. Liberation is happening, and it’s time for people in power to change the way they had been reigning their people.
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The need of the hour is for the state to drive laws and rules which are in the favor of the masses. Reforms are needed in every area. Every child must be provided education without schooling societies cannot bring reformation in their thinking. The institutions must act in the interest of next generations and bring changes to their structures. As one thing is evident the current structures are neither efficient nor effective. Digitization will not only provide empowerment to people but will also provide transparency and independence for people.
There are model countries such as Norway, Sweden, Denmark, etc. which if benchmarked can help create a classless culture and people’s welfare state. These states exist in today’s world and are not fiction and myth. The people in power need to believe in the welfare of their fellow citizens and probably it’s time to move towards new philosophy – Philosophy to create a better world. It’s time to believe in equality and freedom and ensure that state resources are used for the betterment of the lifestyle of people. This can only happen if society at large realizes and believes that all children are equal, and everyone should be given equal opportunity.
The state can help fight class, gender and religious discrimination through information and digitization of the systems. It will not just remain an obligation for the parliamentarians, judiciary, bureaucracy and media to build awareness and education. This will happen because information just cannot be controlled. The sooner this fact is acknowledged the better it is. It’s time to make a change in thinking that people no longer know or understand the governance insufficiencies and governments must understand the value of an informed audience. Perhaps it’s time to learn that before one leaf from the passage of life, hand over a better world to children!
Moied Javeed is a senior telecom executive in Pakistan and can be reached at mj@tptglobal.net. The views expressed in the article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Global Village Space.