The Age of New Social Darwinism

Darwin might have been speaking the absolute truth about the survival of the fittest which meant struggling and getting adapted to the environment by modifying and metamorphosing the body parts to be better equipped to deal with the harsh environment and to get food and the safety of life. Examples like that of a Zebra who grew a long neck when he had to reach food at high places and the example of the small finger of human beings which grows weaker and shorter over time because it is used less than others were quoted in this connection. But all this philosophy seems to be going down the drain because of the 21st-century revolution of science and technology, rather it seems to be modifying itself that the fittest is that who is successfully adjusting himself to the latest technologies as now the technologies like Artificial intelligence are the tools of success and are gradually replacing the power of human muscles and so the survival of the fittest emphasizes not the muscular power but the brain that can effectively use the technologies of 21st century.

The 21st century has brought automotive and self-operating technical machines all around one just needs to speak and the things would be done. In the world of ours, even a cripple can get success and rise to the last rung of the progress ladder. Today, access to food is not dependent on muscular power but rather on the intelligent use of machines for not only securing food but also for remaining attached.

One way of looking at the modern age is to be equipped with the skills and information of the day which would extend the power of the human mind. Among these equipments, the most powerful is artificial intelligence which is capable of even surpassing human capabilities in the sense that it is accurate, fast, and always ready to serve. It has already worked wonders in the areas of translation, teaching, research, medicine, design, etc. If a man of today is well versed in this scientific art, he can excel in the world and the more he learns, the more capable he can become of surviving in this competitive world.

Technology has empowered human beings to grow food in powerful parts of the world sufficiently enough and has provided an efficient system of distribution. Now, we are not required to fight for or hunt for this food. The work is paid in money and money is paid to buy food. So, the fittest is the one who is capable of working in the high-tech world and generating money.

Maintenance of sustained health is another tool to survive best in this world. The widespread and easily accessible information about health and medicine can support the life system. We can not only make intelligent choices of our food but also when some malfunction of the body occurs, humans can find the cure. The more access to information, doctors, and medicine, the more is the surety of survival.

The means of transportation are safer, faster, and available to everyone, if one can pay the expenses. The faster means of transportation affords more chances of success and surety of one’s survival in the competitive world. Gone are the days when only those survived who had stronger and long-lasting muscles to walk on the surfaces of the earth. Other than a few and far between accidents, most human travel has become safer and faster. In the 21st century therefore, the fittest to survive is the one who has more access to the means of transportation, and consequently, survival of the fittest is the acquisition of the best possible machine and skill. Yes, in the case of humans again the best to survive is the one who has developed cognition, immunity, and the skills to exploit the potential, and prowess of machines and technology.

The world of the 21st century is more prone to social Darwinism because of the multivariate nature of the competitive environment which calls for the selectiveness of digital type and allows a laissez-faire to humanity in its sociopolitical setup. The human mind therefore becomes the tool kit for survival rather than the muscular power to aid humanity to survive and only those become fittest who develop the capability to employ their mental capacities more competitively and hence become the fittest survivors. The innovations and digital revolution in the shape of artificial intelligence are creating ever-new horizons of human struggle and innovation. The need of the hour is a new awareness of life for the youthful people getting ready to take up their roles in the upcoming Eugenics and social Darwinism.

Nature, Nurture, and Cyberture

 

Human beings are witnessing a new revolution in the digital age where the world is gradually experiencing its digital modes of doing things rather than its real being which is consequently introducing a new breed of intellectuals, teachers, classrooms, and mode of living. What H.G. Wells saw in his visionary work; the Invisible is becoming visible. Another world order is in the offing where nature and nurture would happily marry into a world called Cybertures. Willingly or not. everyone is a beneficiary as well as affected by this cybernetic revolution because of its singular characteristic of fastest and easiest communication. In the wink of an eye, the message is carried across the globe and the information can be accessed, exchanged, and disseminated. This has developed a new breed of artisans related to digital work functioning and paved the way for a skill-based economy rather than a degree-based economy. More and more students are opting to go online for their livelihood through social media apps, digital content, and audio, video, or pictorial content. The significant thing about all this is that these young men and women are successful so far.

 

The same communication speed when used in the classroom brought a wealth of knowledge and opened new avenues of information transfer. The act of classroom teaching is no longer restricted to the walls of the same, rather it is accessible at any time, from any place, and through any platform. One professor employed at any university in America can be made available to the learners of South Asia in the wink of an eye. The traditional knowledge transfer is now in the hands of Google and Bing. Very few people visit the library to access the books in physical shape because they can be accessed and utilized from the comfort of the home and information and knowledge can be gleaned from them.

 

Social media platforms have created a new shape of community with a hallmark of existence online only. The popularity and impact level of these platforms reflect the virtual mode of life as a new living mode of humanity. The connectivity at multiple levels and democratization for all have made them much cherished the virtual presence of these social media platforms.

 

The major shift from nature or nurture is being experienced through artificial intelligence which is doing wonders from writing small essays to making videos and writing books. The introduction of AI is gradually replacing the burden and labor of production and manufacturing. Humanoid robots are ready to serve humanity from the medicinal to the agricultural field. It has secretly but very successfully entered the educational area also where instructions are available in virtual shape and their performance is much more precise, calculated, and efficient than that of human beings. Ngugi shares his part of the opinion in Globalectic humanism, “The fact is the virtual learning system an institution of the publishing house, the bookshop, and the classroom have arrived and are molding the global intellectual climate. Goethe and Marx foresaw a reality that is now unfolding. The Invisible World dreamt up by H. G. Wells in his Invisible Man is here. This virtual world is producing the third order of Adam, cyberture, after nurture and nature, which can cross the barriers of time and space in seconds. Most affected is the movement of ideas”.

 

The next revolution of AI is in transportation where almost every vehicle is equipped with intelligent gadgets to control music, breaks, parking, and fueling. The cars are gradually moving to the level of auto-driven cars and even larger vehicles.  Though the system is yet in an experimental state, very soon, we shall see driverless vehicles prowling the roads. Instead of talking with the drivers of these vehicles, we shall be talking to the cars of the future. Already, the airplanes are flying on autopilot and the ships are navigating through the dangerous waters even very successfully. On the ground, Google and Apple maps and navigation services can take us safely to our destination and can provide complete information available on the route.

 

3D printing is another miracle of the machine miracles. The computers are capable of printing small non-living objects. Shortly, who knows, these may be capable of printing more complex objects with a life of their own. Some people are planning to develop extremely complex products to be developed through 3-D printing technology. At home also cyber world is also playing its part by automating the home appliances that these intelligently working on their own. In summary, it is the new age of cyberture that humanity is going through as it has already from nature to nurture. It is up to humanity if it can employ this techno-wonder for its security, comfort, and survival or allow itself to be manipulated by the machine wonders!

 

 

 

 

Brief Bio

 

Dr. Zia Ahmed is working as principal of GGCCL Multan and has, recently, been a professor and chair of the English department, along with additional responsibility of the Registrar at Emerson University Multan, Pakistan. He is attached to NUML, Multan, ISP, Multan, and WUM for academic purposes. Besides academic and administrative duties, he is a regular columnist to the print media as a freelance writer and a YouTube blogger for students' pre/post-class teaching. After his Ph.D. in 2012, he supervised 50 MPhil and Two Ph.D. candidates and published 30 (HEC Approved) articles and is an HEC-approved supervisor for PhD studies. He teaches, gives expert advice, and writes on postcolonial and postmodern fiction and ELT for many Journals and universities in Pakistan and abroad. He visited the University of North Texas in 2015 for his postdoctoral research and has spoken frequently nationally and internationally at IIU, Malaysia, La Rochelle, France, Khadar, Azerbaijan, and Parul University, Gujarat, India, conferences.    

 

Phone: 03216301091, 03145135897

Email: zia.ahmed@eum.edu.pk

           zeadogar@gmail.com

           zeadogar@hotmail.com

           prinicipal361101b@gmail.com

           ziaahmad@numl.edu.pk

 

Catching the disease of Meritology

 

Merit is the only option left for us to make our mark in this world of competition, especially in the age of rising artificial intelligence because merit is the key to achieving success. Merit means the right man at the right place equipped with necessary skills and natural talent to make the wonders happen in every field of life. If the merit is not followed, the consequences are not only disastrous but spread panic, trauma and desperation among the people. The recent win of Mr. Arshad is the case in point that he utilized his natural talent and the skills he acquired during his hard work and practice. Today, all the nation is feeling proud and is offering love and congrats to him. He did not belong to any influential family or person. Had the case been the same in the other areas of sports, we would have saved ourselves the humiliation of defeat at number of forums. The recent visit of our cricket team to the USA is a case in point. There is no denying the fact that victory and defeat are a part of games and sports, but repeated and humiliating defeats are not the norm at all. It is the sheer natural talent, acquisition of skills through training and hard labor with commitment that makes things move forward. To feel the pulse of this argument, we may have a cursory look at our heroes, like, science, technology, medicine, engineering, education, banking and commerce, who made their mark nationally and internationally were the men of exceptional merit and did not belong to any privileged family. The same is the case with the world heroes who rose to the heights of glory were mostly born out of poverty.

A famous Postcolonial theorist, Ngugi, remarks that poverty is not an end to itself but a path to riches. He quotes the examples of jazz music and clothes of the Fashion industry which came out of nothing. For example, jazz music came from the people who had talent, but no riches and poverty forced them to come up with the meagre sources but mainly with their talent and made their mark in the world of music. The same, Nguigi says, is the case with the fashion industry that a poor man who did not have enough money and collected rags of multiple colors and sizes and stitched them together to develop a style of his own, and the fashion industry took it up. The argument is not that all heroes must come from the world of poverty, even when it is supported by the fact that the poverty leads to riches but the condition is that one should possess talent also which can be harnessed through proper training and acquisition of skills. The basic idea behind the argument is that talent must be ensured through merit and merit only, without any consideration of recommendations. If Pakistan needs to lead its next nations in the competitive global economy, it needs to establish and propagate merit in its choice of individual to run the affairs in the upcoming world.

Every nation has done the same even in the 20^th and 21^st century, for example, the famous universities of the world offer stay and jobs to the exceptional scholars even if they belong to South Asia or Africa and further contribute to their research and development and the dividends are harvested by both the parties. The proof is the number of Pakistani scientists, engineers, men of medicine, music and sports making their mark in the world. After all, these people have proved that in their country they were counted as failures, but they made their mark on the northern side of the globe. The only difference is the recognition of talent and skills one can possess.

The famous magazine Forbes while defining talent quotes Tom Ruth to enunciate that “talent is a natural way of thinking, feeling or behaving, and when talent is combined with investment of time to practice, it becomes your strength.” In order to harness this talent, the only way is through our education system where the skills of talented person must be given opportunity to sharpen the skills by putting him or her into rigorous training. But once the talented individual is ready to be launched in the market, it will benefit society only when merit is strictly observed and whole of the society, at all its levels, is suffering from the syndrome of Meritology. In the absence of such a mechanism, the talented, skilled and trained individual will be disappointed from the society and would prefer to hand over his whole asset to any foreign nation and we will again be left with untalented, unmeritorious and unskilled people. Ensuring the talent utilization through merit is the only way to save this society from further deterioration.  

 

 

 

 

 

A Nation Adrift: Pakistan's Struggle Without Direction

 A glance around Pakistan reveals the stark contrast between the widespread struggle of its people and the affluence of the nation's elite. The escalating cost of living, rising poverty, and soaring unemployment are leaving many Pakistanis on the brink of despair. In sharp contrast, the wealthy bourgeoisie are enjoying unprecedented prosperity, amassing significant wealth and profits. This disparity highlights a deep financial, social, and political divide within the country. Despite being 77 years old, Pakistan continues to face significant challenges. Improving the quality of life for its citizens remains an elusive goal, primarily due to the persistent socio-political divide. The burdens of inflation, unemployment, and poverty are exacerbated by excessive and unjustified taxation, further straining an already struggling populace.

Political instability not only deepens social divisions but also hampers the state’s ability to function effectively. The ruling party often expends more energy undermining its opponents than addressing the nation's pressing issues. This infighting and power struggle lead to favoritism and oppression, further alienating the public. In such a volatile environment, political leaders risk losing their influence and power if they fail to unify and collaborate. Instead of addressing the country’s economic woes, many politicians are preoccupied with maintaining or expanding their own power. They neglect crucial tasks such as legislation, fundraising, and developing strategies to aid the impoverished. This negligence contributes to the shrinking of the middle class and worsens the suffering of the poor.

Pakistan's economic struggles are more a result of corrupt and self-serving politics than a lack of resources. Those in power have the means to combat corruption and drive meaningful change. However, a flawed political system allows corruption to permeate every level of government. We should take a lesson from neighboring countries like China, India, and Bangladesh, which have improved the economic status of their citizens by empowering women through loans and support for entrepreneurship. In contrast, Pakistan's approach of distributing cash through international loans has led to increased dependency rather than fostering self-sufficiency. The distribution of laptops and other items might earn politicians temporary praise, but these actions are not long-term solutions. True wisdom lies in establishing the much-needed industrial infrastructure that can provide employment opportunities for a large number of unemployed youths. Similarly, the funds currently spent on cash distribution programs should be redirected toward establishing businesses, industries, and agricultural infrastructure. This policy shift has become essential and unaffordable for the people of Pakistan and needs urgent revision. Pakistan does not possess the vast resources of oil-rich nations like Saudi Arabia; instead, available funds must be used for development in technology and research.

Another critical area that needs urgent attention is Pakistan's exports. Pakistan needs to develop cordial relationships with nations worldwide to enhance its export sector. The country should focus on exporting whatever it can produce to earn much-needed revenue instead of continuously seeking new loans. Diplomatic efforts should be intensified to achieve export targets to almost every country in the world. Improving the poor law and order situation is crucial to maintaining justice and mitigating corruption. Without these measures, people become more prone to committing crimes rather than working for social development. Pakistan needs a society based on justice, equality, and freedom more than ever to solve its long-standing sociopolitical issues. Many societies have gone through similar stages and fought wars or undergone revolutions to achieve sustainable civilization levels, as exemplified by China, America, and Canada. Although much time has passed, there is still hope for redemption. Pakistanis are a resilient nation and can evolve into a prosperous, progressive society if the proper environment and direction for their struggle are ensured. This is what the government needs to address urgently.

However, no plan can change the nation's destiny unless we reach a consensus on managing and controlling our population. Over time, Pakistan has only paid lip service to the issue of overpopulation, which has become a significant obstacle on the path to prosperity. If the country seriously addresses its overpopulation issue and implements sustainable planning, the long-standing challenges of resource allocation and sustainability can be effectively tackled. It is evident that for Pakistan to overcome its challenges, a fundamental shift in political practices and economic policies is essential. Only by addressing these issues head-on can the nation hope to bridge the divide and build a more equitable society.