CLAR 110
1 September 2016 In George Packer’s New Yorker article “Change the World” (2013) he argues that Silicon Valley is a foundation for the improvement of humanity but also unmasks impediments towards the rest of the world. George Packer examines Silicon Valley’s cutting edge innovation and its effects on the surrounding community. The author introduces Silicon Valley before during and after the technological breakthrough, while supporting his evidence through interviews with individuals, who are exceedingly narrow-minded. The realm of politics begins to overpower the surrounding community from the industry’s new wealth causing the population not involved to disappear behind their peer’s money status. The tech boom’s stratifying …show more content…
Packer proclaims that Silicon Valley would “stay as far from politics and government as possible” for much of history. Now, political leaders are attempting to take advantage of the sufficient money income produced from this area. This was “giving the Valley a bad name in Washington” because the Valley began prioritizing politic interactions. Packer views this as beneficial, but the way it occurred was arrogant. Dealing with these immense amounts of money needs to be taken carefully, these corporations let different politics in without much question, because they are aware of the supplement amounts of money involved. Gavin Newsom wrote in his business book, “Citizenville: How to Take the Town Square Digital and Reinvent Government”, “technology has rendered our current system of government irrelevant, so now government must turn to technology to fix itself.” Packer believes citizens react better from information posted on social media platforms due to the empowerment of smartphones. Politics have the majority of the population at their fingertips; which can be …show more content…
If they promoted a more open policy, it would let individuals actually engage in what the company has to offer. Corporations only allowed the best and brightest individuals to succeed, which led to a lack of gender and race in most corporation tech companies. With the overwhelming success of these corporations Packer hopes these employers will acknowledge these differences, ultimately leading to more success. A person should be able to achieve proper credentials regardless of their past. Accomplishments should be a result of what a certain individual is capable of not from their money status. Packer supports the claim that communities “can’t have vibrant democracy without a vibrant middle class.”
Furthermore, while Silicon Valley is attempting to better citizens lives, it could be concluded the main focus has been directed towards “advancement” rather than “enhancement”. Innovation is an amazing modern tool that is undoubtley overlooked at how much neglect it is actually causing. Technological advancements are causing a huge gap between the rich and poor, because the main focus of industries is to provide enhancements to make their lives easier, leaving behind the lower class who can not pare