Technological progress and economic expediency have reduced the effectiveness of ideological politics. The United States stands to gain the most from this. The EU stands to lose the most.
The influence of technology on ideology
In 2024, 68% of the world's population had access to the internet. The total number of users reached 5.5 billion, 227 million more than in 2023.(1) 92.7% of all internet users use social media. The number of people using social media increases by approximately 400,000 daily.(2)
The development of information technology has challenged the traditional paradigm of political power on Earth. Since ancient times, politicians have not controlled the world, but rather the description of that world. This is how various ideologies were born. By creating a description of the world (ideologies) that suited their own purposes, politicians gained political power.
Very often, the description of the world created by politicians and the actual reality did not coincide. But politicians succeeded in getting people to believe not in the actual reality, but in the reality created by politicians. However, this is much more difficult for politicians to achieve now than it was just a few decades ago.
The global internet and social media help people explore the real world without the guidance of politicians. This has become a death sentence for all ideologies. The disappearance of the ideologies we are accustomed to is only a matter of time.
This is best understood by politicians from countries where the internet and social media have developed most strongly. These are primarily US politicians. 7 of the world's 10 largest social networks are based in the United States.(3) And 93% of the population in this country used the internet, according to 2023 data.(4) This is almost a third more than the global average.
Politicians from Russia, China, India, Japan and Singapore are also well-informed.(3) All of these countries are home to social networks with over 100 million users, and the share of users in these countries is higher than the world average.(4)
But European politicians are bucking the trend. Despite the EU being the world's second-largest economy in nominal terms and the third-largest economy at purchasing power parity,(5) it lacks its own major social media platforms. European citizens use social media platforms based in other countries. This is doubly incredible, given that the share of internet users in the EU is a third higher than the global average. In Europe, 93% of residents(6) use the internet. That's the same percentage as in the US!
The underdevelopment of their own social media became a fatal mistake for European politicians. They continued to base their foreign and domestic policies on ideological dogmas. Meanwhile, other major countries began to ignore ideology in favor of mutually beneficial economic cooperation. In other words, European politicians continued to control their voters by creating a desired description of the world (ideology). Meanwhile, politicians in other major countries began to cautiously share with voters the real world without the fabricated ideological dogmas.(7) This became a tectonic shift in global politics. But European politicians remained outside this movement.
Politicians in the US, Russia, China, India, and some other countries understand that the continued effective use of ideology to control voters is no longer possible. Technological progress has reduced the effectiveness of ideologies.
The influence of economics on ideology
Progressive politicians also understand that abandoning ideologies is essential for the sake of human evolution, as ideological conflict hinders economic development. Therefore, abandoning ideological struggle for the sake of economics will become the main trend of the new stage of international politics.
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