Social Media and the Pandemic

Thanks to the information and communications technology (ICT), everyone appears to be well-informed. The lack of information is not an issue. Some people, supposedly educated and well-positioned, are seen acting inappropriately, but it is not the problem of communication but of education. The ICT is the biggest defence against the scourge. In this context it is very pertinent to bring to the general notice that it is the liberal economic order, which has provided the media, the gadgets and enabled the people to avail these. Though making cutting edge technological commodities generally available is only one of the benefits of free markets. The biggest gift of a rationalist order, i.e, the liberal order, is democracy itself. The first response of a non-democratic order is to suppress the informaiton about a brewing crisis. And if it remains uncontained, a manageable crisis becomes explosive. Our faith in selves and freedoms are our strengths. The context of this post is that often calamitous times reactivate the collectivists and they try to gain by (mis)appropriating human vulnerablities.

Niraj Kumar Jha