SOCIAL hyperpolarisation, gradually becoming apparent not just in developing democracies but also in the more evolved ones, has emerged as a matter of grave concern for policymakers worldwide. The Human Development Report 2021-22, issued by the United Nations Development Programme, explores it in detail, finding that the deep divisions we see in our communities today are borne of human insecurities that have metastasised due to the rapid economic, social and political shifts brought about by advancements in information technologies. The report’s findings will seem quite familiar to anyone in Pakistan who has noticed with concern the alarming rise in political polarisation, deepening social divisions, religious and general intolerance and deepening mistrust between the citizenry and the state. Indeed, our country, with its many systemic problems, seems to have provided particularly fertile ground for social polarisation triggered by the arrival of digital media. The chasm between the haves and the have-nots had always been wide, but digital media shone a light on it like never before, in the process triggering the insecurities that underlie the general malcontent and disillusionment we see in today’s youth.

The report finds that those who suffer from higher insecurity are attracted to more extreme views about the government’s role in the economy. This, it warns, “hampers public deliberation in uncertain times when insecurity is higher”. In a country where every economic decision is now looked at as a conspiracy by a government in cahoots with the IMF or some shadowy world power, this rings particularly true. The report also notes that “people with greater intolerance of uncertainty are likely to bond with politically like-minded peers and less with opponents, fuelling the formation of polarised beliefs”. It warns that this can be exploited by politicians who can come up with attractive, extreme political ideologies that also impart a sense of moral superiority to those who ascribe to them. One does not need to name names to see where this is happening in our society and who is responsible for it. Clearly, we are living through a period of great social flux. Instead of leading their followers down a destructive path, there is a dire need for leaders of all shades to come together and formulate a shared vision of the future that is built on mutual respect and tolerance. In exploiting the worst of human nature, they are playing with a fire that will one day burn them too.

Published in Dawn, September 12th, 2022