Economic power, income distribution

MINIATURISED complexities for a computer graphical interface has revolutionised the societies’ material progress worldwide.
This in summary is what technology has done. Ricardo Hausmann (Director of the Centre for International Development and professor of the Practice of Economic Development, Harvard Kennedy School of Government) and José Domínguez (Professor of Structural Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Seville) of Harvard University wrote that: “The application of complex science tools to the study of society allows for the analysis of phenomena that have been hard to identify and analyse with more traditional tools, especially in the field of economics, which, in the absence of these tools, has tended to work with relatively low dimensional representations of reality. But the increasing availability of more detailed information of social phenomena makes it particularly useful to use tools that can exploit this informational richness. This opens up fascinating new horizons on almost all fields of knowledge in the social sciences.”
This can be further from the truth that so much progress in artificial intelligences, networking, robotics, expert systems and control systems in computing have opened up new corridors of economic opportunities.
The article alluded to above continues on to say that “it is widely accepted that technology is the key driver of economic growth of countries, regions and cities. Technological progress allows for the more efficient production of more and better goods and services, which is what prosperity depends on.”
Technology and income distribution
There is so much technological innovation and creativity in certain parts of the world than in others. Those who are not technologically advanced and creative are not so progressive, like PNG. As reported by Wim Naude and Paua Nagler of the United Nations University Publication for the UN Development Programme “Society has perhaps never been more unequal than at present, in terms of the distribution of income and wealth. Within-country income inequality (as measured by the Gini coefficient) is, according to the UNDP, more unequal today than at any point since World War II”.
This global phenomenon is a lesson for a nation like PNG and its decision makes in all sectors to take heed. No man is an island as they say and no one in this country must subject this nation to a destiny guided by his or her subjectivities. To you the bureaucrats, politicians and decision makers in general in all public and private sectors of this country, do not let your biased views override intelligible ideas around you. You should take the responsibilities for the multitude of lives and generations whose wellbeing is subjected to the decision you are undertaking in the course of your duties. This is an issue that warrants a cross-sector view for the best ideas to take precedence over biased opinions for this nation to fare well in the technological challenges facing it at the moment.
As an example, let’s refer to the UNDP pertaining to the above report again as saying “These inequalities, and the resulting societal divisions, were one cause of the 2008 global financial crisis — and were, in turn, amplified by it. The economies of the West, the epicentre of the crisis, remain stagnant a decade after the crisis. The political rise of Donald Trump in the United States and the Brexit vote in the United Kingdom — not to mention the rise of nationalism across Europe and the political failures and tensions in Brazil, South Africa, and Russia — can all be argued to be outcomes of, or related to, these inequalities.”
Having a less regard for the best ideas in technology in mathematical computations as well as engineering will mean stagnation and even demise.
Political power and technology
There are changes created in the culture of politics with the illumination of the world of technology. The automating tools in the public’s hands can be the best inception of a system of economics and governance any country in the world can dwell on to serve its people better. PNG can now tap into this site of opportunity. Let us see the world’s politics from the view of Ruth Fox, director of Hansard Society which records British political discourse and I quote “politics is broken. Across the globe, voter turnout has been in decline for decades. The electorates believe that the parties are all the same, the politicians are all the same, they are not like us, it does not make any difference”.
Here is a bunch of people called politicians who cannot perform to the voters’ expectations. Of course, one can say you have done it all and it seems like you have never.
Ffox further says in her paper that “Low turnout breeds further discontent. It is impossible to construct an electoral system that is perfectly fair , but low turnout exacerbates the sense of unfairness when a minority government is elected, or when tiny factions end up tipping the balance of power.”
The paper further says “Technocrats have long hoped that social media might empower the public – helping them to make their voices heard. But what has transpired has been not so much a transformation of politics as more of the same. Sloganeering, hucksterism and gaffes persist: the abiding impression is often of ever bigger megaphones blaring in an ever, bigger echo chamber”.
The above account is representative of the political and economic atmosphere here in PNG and in is no way an exception at all. Now, we have to think very critically here rather than believing that all is or will be OK. It is a disease of political depression.
We can work a way around here for the benefit of the people of PNG with technology. For instance, a user application computer programme to alert district development authorities who are representing the elected MPs and the head of the government to allow dispensation and delivery of goods and services that are required for the district.
Technology and institutions
Technology is the craftmanship of ideas that serve an integral purpose. The mechanics and relationships established that accomplish purposes is man’s ability to extend his potential further. The engineering, mathematical calculations, abstractions and emulations as compared to a hunter-gatherer mindset is a marvel to look at. Man is really and appreciably going to all extents possible.
Wanda J Orlikowski and Stephen R Barley stated in the June 2001 Mis Quarterly published by Management Information Systems Research Centre, University of Minnesota: “Because of important epistemological differences between the fields of information technology and organisation studies, much can be gained from greater interaction between them. In particular, we argue that information technology research can benefit from incorporating institutional analysis from organisation studies, while organisation studies can benefit even more by following the lead of information technology research in taking the material properties of technologies into account.”
As a process of organisational and management paradigms Orlikowski and Barley added: “We further suggest that the transformations currently occurring in the nature of work and organising cannot be understood without considering both the technological changes and the institutional contexts that are reshaping economic and organisational activity.
“Thus, greater interaction between the fields of information technology and organisation studies should be viewed as more than a matter of enrichment. In the intellectual engagement of these two fields lies the potential for an important fusion of perspectives, a fusion more carefully attuned to explaining the nature and consequences of the techno-social phenomena that increasingly pervade our lives.”
The imperative point made here is that technology is not a supplement but a tool to use to better the people’s lives.
My payer for PNG today is “The law of Christ alone can make us free, and love is the fulfilment of the law”.

Next week: Modification of PNG for top performance and record setting using very advanced technology.