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7 - Social Futures

from Part II - Shaping Our Pasts and Futures

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2021

Glen Whelan
Affiliation:
McGill University, Montréal
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Summary

The desire to maintain the sustainable development of humanity is widespread. In the present chapter, it is proposed that Alphabet’s capacity to shape this concern far outstrips that of most other organizations combined. Nevertheless, the megacorporation’s potential to sustain humanity’s development is not universally regarded as a net positive. In recognizing thus, the chapter posits that Alphabet’s current impact on our social futures should be conceived as simultaneously having a more authoritarian, and a more autonomous, element to it. Whilst the exact nature of Alphabet’s impact on our social futures remains to be seen, the chapter’s concluding summary emphasizes – in anticipation of the discussions that begin the book’s third and final part – that the megacorporation’s interest in sustaining our future existence is not just consistent with, but positively enabled by, the custodial role it plays with regards to our personal and social pasts.

Type
Chapter
Information
Megacorporation
The Infinite Times of Alphabet
, pp. 136 - 156
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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  • Social Futures
  • Glen Whelan, McGill University, Montréal
  • Book: Megacorporation
  • Online publication: 06 April 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108626095.010
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  • Social Futures
  • Glen Whelan, McGill University, Montréal
  • Book: Megacorporation
  • Online publication: 06 April 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108626095.010
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Social Futures
  • Glen Whelan, McGill University, Montréal
  • Book: Megacorporation
  • Online publication: 06 April 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108626095.010
Available formats
×