This chapter is more speculative and less analytical than the preceding ones. You stand warned. The reason for the change should be apparent. At some point, I needed to cash in my analysis. If the world is as I have described, something follows. Something must be done or changed or cut loose from our previous understanding. Otherwise, I have merely added my camel’s straw to the vast weight of negation crushing democratic politics today.
I began my story with an information tsunami and ended with that rough beast, the nihilist, and with democracy, as actually practiced, staggering into a maze of failure and self-doubt. Now I wish to parse the choices available to the players— the public, the government, you and me—in this turbulent landscape. Ultimately, the question in my mind is whether any combination of choices can chart a path out of the labyrinth, into the open sunlight.
I originally titled the chapter “What Is To Be Done,” which conveyed my intention all too blatantly. Having portrayed a system deformed by relentless but poorly understood forces, I felt obliged to offer a fix. I learned, however, that I’m not comfortable posing as a prophet or even as an advocate. I can think of no reason why you should act on anything I have to say—unless, of course, you were driven by motives and ideals similar to mine in the first place.
CHOICES AND SYSTEMS
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