All together now

“For most of human history, complexity was absorbed by stable structures around us. Kingdoms, religious orders, governments, corporations and communities made decisions on behalf of individuals, either directly or through shaping opportunities available to them. A person inherited their identity, geography, profession and even world view, often leading to conformity by choice, which was then reinforced through cultural norms. Life may not have been fair or optimal, but it was structurally legible. That arrangement is unravelling. Today, the individual must navigate levels of complexity once reserved for institutions. A social media entrepreneur in Gurgaon builds a business on a platform whose policies are dictated by Silicon Valley. A virus from a single wet market closes every school on Earth. Subprime mortgages in America upend livelihoods in Chennai.”

Internet article