Politics of Technology and Technology of politics

There are many who are proponents of technology determinism.They believe in the absolute power of technology . Many believe that the world is driven by technology and wil be driven by technology . It is indeed true that technology is so dominant in all spheres of life of a large majority of people on earth . While appreciating this unprecedented reach of technology everywhere in human life , it is also important to understand politics and political economy of technology . Along with politics of technology , it is also important to recognize the new technology of politics and how technology influences political choices. This is both an issue of ethics and power .

Technology has been evolving for thousands of years : from the taming fire, metallurgy ,evolution of tools, wheel, alphabets, wind energy, printing ,steam , steal, electricity , automobile , electronics, aviation to rockets to satellite to the omnipresent internet in human life .

Technology has evolved and evolving and will keep changing . There are those believe technology is everything and they believe in technology . Good enough . But almost all these technology are basically made through human imagination , innovation and improvisation and meant for a certain utility . And the technology can also be tampered by human beings for good or bad . And a significant part of technology is also developed for war and during war time .

Technology is not merely technology . Technology , use and control of technology is also political . Who controls technology for what , how and where , is basically a function of power and power dynamics . Hence use and control of technology is a political issue .

Over the last one hundred years , elections have evolved and the specific modes and manner of elections too changed. In the aftermath of the second world war and decolonization , many new nation states emerged and elections became the means of legitimacy for those who rule in the name of democracy . In the aftermath of the fall of Beril Wall too many countries became independent and a third wave of democracy witnessed new democratic states .

However , over the last twenty five years in the age of neo liberalism , international and national corporate capital penetrated the political processes and began to control policies , politics, media and political parties . Many of corporate capitalists , like Taksin Shinawatra, Berulsconi, and now Trump , directly took over politics and became rulers . And populist neo conservative authoritarian regime emerged in many countries . Elections often became stage managed and manipulated show , with active support of crony media and crony capitalists and in some case military elites . There are too many examples of manipulated election results in many counties . Hence citizens need to be more vigilant than ever . Because we are living in an age where media elites , corporate elites and political elites actively collaborate to manufacturing consent .

Electronic voting machines emerged as an effective and faster methods of voting and counting . There are those who are totally convinced by the integrity ,efficacy and efficiency of the machine . Some of them also are proponents of technological determinism . However for the last many years , there has also been skepticism about the total integrity of EVMs. And due to such political debates , many countries reverted back to the old ballot model.

Here the issue is not merely of technology . It us how populist authoritarian tendencies often manipulate election in all possible ways in many counties . The issue is to what extent people trust political elites who control various political parties . The question is despite all rhetoric whose interest they represent . The question is how elections are funded and how corporate money influence elections and media and perceptions. And also to what extent such collaborative nexus of elites can subvert or undermine institutions of governance .
Any methods and manner of election are indeed political .
While many may have more trust in technology , many others may be skeptical of the politics of technology and politics that use and control a particular technology . It is precisely that issue discussed in many counties and even in India.

Hence it is not a debate about technology per se or about the integrity or efficacy of EVM..It is a debate about to what extent people trust and believe in political elites and the power nexus that control government and governance .

Democracy is all about such debates . The debate is not about EVM per se . Many confirm the Indian EVM are fool proof . And one is not challenging such belief . One is more concerned about the integrity of political process and shared sense of nervousness about those vested interests operate behind elections and electoral process .The larger question is about the increasing sense of trust deficit in political process increasingly controlled by crony corporate capitalists whose business is to maximize their profit .