Democracy is going backwards. The model that has seen the West thrive, that lifted the majority of its peoples to an affluence previously unknown, is now under threat. From the same forces it ousted, that now enjoys a resurgence. 

 The Oligarchy of Human Nature is on the rise and attempting to breed a new elite. An Uber-strain that has, and will do, anything to retain (and increase) their wealth, power, and more importantly, their influence over the Masses. Sounds like Lords and Serfs? It should do. 

 Disruptors have identified our weakness. That we have a crisis of identity. To cure us they offer disruption, disorder, and confusion. Whilst stoking the fire’s of resentment, ideology, diversity, and discontent. And we’ve allowed them back. Why? Because we live in a society in which we think we know the truth. But it’s a truth told by Others who lie. We see it through a lens that is increasingly narrowed by the elitist few. Made simple by the Social Media platforms that they’ve put in place. 

 We think we see the world about us, but the truth is we only glimpse it. Because we are constantly being distracted. Living our lives with our eyes down, totally absorbed within our new digital platforms. On which others create the narrative, direct the production, and even dictate the crowd’s reaction to the performance. 

 We have almost reached the point where our senses can only deceive us; because all the data we receive; that we see, hear, and even touch, are concepts created by our new Lords. It’s fodder for the Herd. And it’s feeding the Third Age of the West. The rise of the Tech Oligarchy. Their influence is spreading; creeping deep into our psyche. Being entrenched into all that we take for granted. 

 Like oil, Tech is assimilating itself into our daily lives. So be assured that the next few decades will see a struggle for domination, between the Old Guard and the New. The money and power is shifting. Politics will become more exposed, and yet more powerful because of its social platform. The next Cold War isn’t going to be fought between the Superpowers. Not with ideological threats. But between the Tech giants who will rise to dominance in the Third Age. 

 As the influence of fossilised fuel wanes, power and influence is shifting towards the Digital Oligarchy, slow and steady towards a far more dangerous influence upon the world than Sheiks and Russian billionaires. Because of Tech’s intransigent influence upon our social spectrum, they now hold all the cards. Dell, Tencent, Alibaba . . . Google, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, and a hundred others. A thousand more working their way up the list. Licking their lips at the prospect of draining us of our wealth. 

 Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Quora, Flickr . . . Say “hi” to your new besties. But which one is looking over your shoulder? And what is it they want you to see? When they work that out . . . Watch out! 

 Jeff Bezos, Laurene Powell Jobs, and Marc Benioff, just the latest to buy Media Outlets. Why? Because where else does the money flow when you have a sea of cash you can never spend? Money already buys politicians; Social media has begun to influence the votes. Buying Media Outlets isn’t just to find a hobby. Advertising on your Facebook page isn’t just about the cash. Not when you’re worth more than a small country. It’s a drip feed of suggestive power that goes hand in hand with the Tech revolution. 

 Zuckerberg says he wants to “change the world” (just like most of the others), but for whose benefit? When you harvest your customer’s data, and then use it as a weapon to monetise them all. Well, where do personalities like this consider the line to be drawn? 

 The wealth of the world has become as virtual as it’s social platforms. Huge valuations of stocks that can never be realised.

 Uber; it’s an App for crying out loud. They employ twelve thousand people, and yet somehow are valued at one hundred and twenty billion dollars ($120,000,000,000). That’s worth more than the entire auto-industry. 

 Facebook has 22,000 employees and it’s worth a staggering $600 billion ($600,000,000,000). WTF?

 And it’s happening all around the world. Part of a trend in the world’s economy that is jacking open the chasm between the rich, and the rest of us. We’re being groomed. Taken back in time. To the Lord who can afford. And the Serf with no Net worth. 

 When people elevate themselves above all others, they think they live in the Promised Land. But what to do when they’ve gorged themselves on too much milk and honey. Well, that’s when the sugar rush kicks in. And when your business platform is built on disruption . . . What’s the old adage, “Power corrupts. Absolute power, corrupts absolutely.”

 Tech is spreading its influence and widening its web. Stockpiling an ocean of cash in preparation for the inevitable struggle. When Oil, Banking, and Industry finally wake up to fact that the Tech Disruptors have shifted the world sideways, and away from their grasp. These soulless, merciless, money-making machines will fight back. They’ll go to war with Tech. They’ll try to buy, threaten, and murder their way back in. The Old Guard have shepherded our world for centuries, and won’t just fall on their swords. But when you already have a bad reputation; news and social media will give the Techs a Cloud on which to shoot them down. 

 It’s not just the world that’s changing, it’s how we’ll be allowed to view it. And what we’ll be allowed to see. The big question is, how will the personalities that run it, see us?

 Big Brother be damned. 

 Big Daddy has bought the keys to the house.