Originally published on July 1, 2016
Image sourced from: http://boxesandarrows.com/files/banda/social-networks/social_network_diagrams2a.gif
Asked Cinnamon for permission on 09 October 2017.
The importance of networks is a missing theme in discussions around recent political and economic shifts occurring worldwide. In theory, having access to information allows people to make choices that reflect their values, and to associate with people who share those values. In practice, however, not everyone does have the same level access to choices, in large part because network effects are amplifying the digital divide.
The benefits of the winner-takes-all pattern evident in many fields usually flows to those people who understand the importance of networks. They work to update and deepen their knowledge base, and to connect with others who share common interests. The rest of us – to a greater or lesser degree - are increasingly being left on social, career and geographic islands. And with each passing year, many of us fall further behind.
Such changes are not new (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGscoaUWW2M), but these network effects are causing seismic changes in political and economic behaviour. For example, this article (http://www.theage.com.au/national/education/regional-campuses-facing-stiff-competition--and-some-face-the-chop-20160404-gnxzyj.html) mentions that an outer suburban campus is being closed because “some schools, parents and students see regional campuses as second-rate.”
Why this perception? Because students understand that beyond the campus, the lack of local economic diversity provides no access to the deepest professional and social networks. Increasingly, career success requires people to work in a diverse setting where the application of skills can be practiced on a range of problems. The ugly truth is that much of regional Australia is not big, advanced or diverse enough to provide such opportunities. Many of the higher skilled jobs, such as medical research, are concentrated in capital cities, where network effects really come into play.
These trends are also creating fertile ground for populism. Roughly 27% of voters are estimated to not vote for either of the major parties at the 2016 Federal election[SL1] . Research based upon the Australian Electoral Study (http://insidestory.org.au/howards-victories-which-voters-switched-which-issues-mattered-and-why/) noted (in summary) that many voters felt that it did matter which party was in office. Beyond the “donkey voters”, there are many others looking for answers – and showing up in the increasing minor party vote.
A big question is how Australians choose to react to these trends. Do we wish to open political space for populist candidates like Trump and Farage? Or can we collectively make a difference to reach out to those people who differ from us, and try to understand what the world looks like from a different perspective? Can we learn from each other despite our differences?
[SL1]And this rose to 34% not voting for either major party in the 2025 Federal election. https://australiainstitute.org.au/post/the-2025-federal-election-is-the-first-where-a-major-party-received-fewer-votes-than-independents-and-minor-parties/
