Social media, citizen journalism and instant and seamless communications developments in both what we communicate and how we can do it, have all shed a little more light in the corridors of power. But I am always intrigued by commentators who herald these advances as having afforded significantly greater transparency and accountability in governments. I know this sounds cynical, but it would be more of a surprise to anyone who knows me for me not to cast a cynical eye, but I fear that this is all a tad naive.
The real corridors of power, the places were decisions are made and The Establishment runs our world, surely operate at a deeper and still unexposed level. I always remember the story told to me by a then very senior politician. They said that when they were young and aspirational they longed for promotion and access to the corridors of power. As their career advanced they gained entry to some of those corridors and even to some of the closed rooms where very important people held sway. Eventually they reached what they thought was the inner sanctum of power broking and were pleased to have climbed to those heights, only to discover that all the other people in that room were still asking where the real decisions were made. the same applies in government and business worlds in my experience. No matter how deep you get into The establishment, real authority seems to reside elsewhere!
The advances of social media et al create the allusion of transparency, accountability and influence, but I have a nagging feeling that it is but a scratch on the surface of a largely unchanged and unchanging Establishment. Or am I just a conspiracy theorist? Probably…but how would I know.
