The Redemption of Technology

by Roman Goerss

For the past two decades, the impact of technology on democracy and government has been a hot topic in politics.  In the 1990s, the general assessment was rosy as the dotcom revolution connected us like never before and gave rise to new tools and expanded horizons.  The terrible events of September 11^th seemed a betrayal of that promise, demonstrating a dark potential to modern technology that heralded a new age of national insecurity.  As that decade drew to a close, few would have estimated that the benefits of something as silly as a social networking site devoted to "poking" and helping college kids get dates could threaten the power of the most tyrannical governments in the Middle East.  

The wave of revolutions throughout that region may herald the beginning of the end of the tyranny and poverty that made it so ripe for radicalism, even in the countries that sponsored the hijackers.

It seems that a company founded in a college dorm room now leads the countercharge to redeem the democratic potential of technology, and with it, to salvage liberty in a region of the world that long languished under tyranny and fear.  Social networking sites like Facebook and the revolutions they've helped kindle are teaching us that technology has as much potential to support freedom as to threaten it.  Liberty seekers in the Middle East have a long and varied journey ahead.  The road Iran will take will not be the same as that of Egypt, nor of Bahrain, nor Libya, nor any of the other tyrannical regimes that remain in that region.

One of the few commonalities that we can depend on, however, is that these oppressed populations desire freedom and the prosperity that comes with it, and they have lived for years under governments that tried to keep them from learning even the basic principles of how free societies operate.

The integral role sites like Twitter and Facebook have played in the struggle thus far has demonstrated that it is communication and knowledge, not raw aggression and arms, which are most essential to undermining tyrants.  The long-banned lessons of freedom and capitalism will be even more essential if these embattled populations succeed, for -- as we have learned -- it is far more difficult to construct a stable government than to tear down a corrupted one.  The Language of Liberty Institute extends its support to all people who desire their freedom, their property, and their dignity and rights as human beings.

Egyptian Lessons

By Alex Potter

Never doubt the power of liberty.

I will be the first to admit that I was wrong about Egypt.  Egyptians still have a long way to go towards creating a successful liberal democracy and free market.  However, the revolution in Egypt has shown that we must never doubt the inherent power of the idea of freedom to bring down the most powerful repressive institutions in the world, whether it is the Soviet Union or Mubarak's police state.

When I left Egypt two years ago after studying Arabic and political Islam at the American University in Cairo for a year, I was profoundly disillusioned with the possibility of political freedom or a free market succeeding there. Although I am a staunch defender of liberty in the U.S., three things made me view a transition to liberal democracy in Egypt as unlikely and even possibly harmful. Mubarak had provided security, secularism and a balance between the demands of Egypt's poor and market liberalization.  Those three things are no guarantee in a democratic Egypt.

First, Mubarak provided security.  Yes, it was a security bought with the price of freedom, but security nonetheless.  An Egyptian once challenged me to name a neighborhood I did not feel safe walking through in Cairo I responded that the presence of a soldier with an AK-47 on every corner made me feel less likely to be robbed, but actually made me wonder how safe I really was.  Though Mubarak's security apparatus was feared, it was also effective at eliminating terrorism and petty crime in a poverty-stricken and densely populated country.  We do not know what kind of security a democratic government will be able to provide in Egypt in terms of terrorism or crime.

Second, Mubarak was a secular dictator, but he quite possibly prevented a theological dictator from coming to power.  Mubarak fought a near civil war against Islamic extremists during the 1990s, and won.  Those extremists were much more radical than the current Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, and if Mubarak had not crushed them, Egyptians could have lost even more freedom.  Yet it was the very authoritarianism that Mubarak is hated for that prevented a Taliban-style group from seizing power in Egypt.  I heard no objections to Mubarak's heavy-handed security measures after an Islamist terrorist attack happened while I was in Egypt.  We do not know what role Islamic political groups and extremists will be allowed to play in a democratic Egypt.

Finally, Egypt is a tremendously poor country.  Mubarak struck a fine line between market liberalization and government subsidies for basic services and food.  The problem is that developing a democratic Egypt means enfranchising poor Egyptians to legislate redistribution of wealth and reversal of some aspects of economic liberalization.  Though some criticized Mubarak for not liberalizing fast enough, it may be that a democratic Egypt will choose an even less free economy.

All these things caused me to regard the possibility of a liberal democratic and free-market Egypt as a naïve vision.  Yet, despite all the current obstacles to true liberty in Egypt today, what I forgot was to be optimistic and remember that the desire for liberty is a basic and irresistible human trait.  Ronald Reagan was a great president because of his optimism about America and freedom's future in the face of our communist enemy.  Despite the many challenges that face them, the people of Egypt demonstrated to us that hope and optimism sustain the desire for freedom in even the worst circumstances. Egyptians have demonstrated their desire to be free.  They can face the challenges of security, Islamism and poverty and create a new society of liberty.  They have thrown off their chains; now they must build the institutions and ideas to keep them off.

You can help Egypt keep the chains off.  The Egyptian revolution and the continuing protests across the Middle East show us that empowering people in their own countries is the best way to spread freedom around the world.  In particular, young people are eager to hear ideas about freedom and to implement them in their countries.  It was the young people of Egypt who brought down a dictatorship.  It was no coincidence that you heard English being spoken by both the leaders of the protests and the protesters themselves.  You heard "freedom" shouted in English on Tahrir Square because English is the language the free press around the world, and you heard English spoken by Egyptian opposition leaders Muhammad el-Baradai (educated at NYU) and Wael Ghonim (Google executive) because America still bears the flame of the idea of liberty in the world.

The Language of Liberty Institute is eager to expand its unique combination of teaching classical liberal principles and their practical application to students in new regions and countries like Egypt.  With more funding, the Language of Liberty Institute could provide Egyptians who braved bullets for the chance of liberty with the knowledge and skills to build a better and freer future for themselves.  Donate to the Language of Liberty Institute today and help make this generation the last to experience political subjugation.

While earning his B.A. in politics, Alex Potter spent a year in Egypt studying Arabic and Middle Eastern culture.  He currently resides in Quito, Ecuador, where he teaches English.    

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