Hello, European Union and Poland: You have the answer
The acquis communautaire and the Polish health tradition need to be on touchscreens everywhere
With Miroslaw Manicki
Geopoliticians hate the European Union. The problem with the EU is that it challenges the nation-state idea, which is still the prevalent way to be. The Great Game of world domination by some country or another is dead, the principal protagonists of which have largely gone back to their heartland lairs to contemplate next steps.
Now you can see an open door to a post-geopolitical world, one that still needs to plug in somewhere, but which is nonetheless detached from this ‘big rock’, its physical borders, and its varied features. The technopolar world described by Ian Bremmer in Foreign Affairs grants license to make such an observation: When given a chance, soft beats out hard. Tech trumps the Trumps of the world, from the hoplites to the delegates, from the legitimate players to the posers. Instantaneous communication among the masses, by the masses, constitutes the ultimate human power.
Bremmer aligns social media giants of the US vs. those of China. These four sets of actors set the stage; they are the stage. In the imminent future, any combination of powers will thus prevail, with the rest of the world — Europe in particular — left to watch and to adapt. He doesn’t use the world feckless.
It is ironic that from a geopolitical perspective, two of the four phenomena, UA and Chinese social media enterprises, are held to harbor more validity than actual countries, which have many places to “plug in”. Among what geopoliticians would consider the Great Powers, the EU and its constituent countries are among those that are left out, despite the aggregate of power and resources they represent.
Lost in the discussion is the question of relevance. What should the countries and the big-time technologies be doing? We know much of what they shouldn’t be doing, and we are about to learn a great deal more.
Imagine you should ask, because the countries of the European Union have been working on realizing a system in support of answering this question in all applicable areas. This is the “acquis communautaire”, which, as seen in the Figure below, constitutes a vast set of guidelines and rules by industry and by region that support culture, trade, social, and legal requirements and preferences of the people in question.
It is not out of order to consider the acquis as the embodiment of the EU and what it stands for. Stuck inside the books, however, the detailed processes representing the acquis are largely impotent and incapable of helping the EU or anyone else in the active battle of “keystrokes” and “eyeballs”.
How is this new form of engagement to be carried out? What are the keys to success? Is the process long and arduous, or is there another way? Behind the scenes there may be a great deal of needed preparation. The turn of the tide, though, as often as not, takes place in an instant once a valid solution presents itself.
Anyone who was there can remember the birth of Google. In this way, it was like the decision by many to eat at MacDonald's. Do you recall the allure of MacDonald's when it came on the stage? It itself is reminiscent of the birth of Ford Motor and the immediate embrace by the people of the Model T. None of us were there in that case, but fortunately, the phenomenon was recorded. To unwind these three major turning points, the Model T was cheap and dependable with no alternative, the MacDonald's burger was exactly the same every time and you never had to wait for one, and Google’s superiority over Yahoo! was instantly evident, no one ever looking back.
In each case, conversion from old to new was instantaneous. Introducing the new did not necessitate fixing the old in any of these cases. Ford didn’t have to improve the other cars, MacDonald’s didn’t need to rearrange the other hamburger systems, and Google did not have to correct Yahoo’s bloated search results.
The same will be the case in this case, once the valid alternative presents itself in an effortless way to the public and to those responsible for their well-being.
One recalls the constant complaint from the UK when they were in the EU: “The European bureaucrats have 80,000 pages of rules you have to follow, how to do everything.” There was an implication that this was a lot, that it constituted overreach, and that the British and others could do better without them.
To this, I counter, are you aware of how many notes there are in a great musical symphony — such as Beethoven’s famous Ninth Symphony and its hopeful Ode to Joy? ‘Surely that is important for similar reasons as stated with respect to the “acquis”’. We think not.
The Ninth Symphony lasts for over an hour — typically an hour and ten minutes. It is a satisfying and consequential piece. How many notes does it entail? Jokingly, it is said that Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, with its dat dat dat daaaaaah motif, is an example of a four-note symphony, but even that one is monumentally complex and long. I memorized the first trumpet part as a youth and I remember it as being a lot of notes.
Without an actual count — which is possible — I estimate that the Beethoven’s Ninth is made up of about 1.2 million notes, orchestra and choir combined. Is that too many? Is the cause for complaint as to the complexity of the task relevant to the performers or to the audience? Keep in mind the story of Emperor Joseph II of Austria complaining about “too many notes” to Mozart. Of course, the answer to that was ostensibly “…just as many as necessary, Your Majesty.”
Indeed. It is interesting to note that Mozart got away with something there that may have otherwise gotten him into a trouble. He was a subordinate to the emperor that wasn’t acting subordinate. I hold that he was allowed to get away with that for a similar reason that Google, Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Twitter, and others continue to act without obvious constraints as pointed out by Brenner. Where they have gone, the “emperor” himself cannot go.
Decoupled from arbitrary caprice, then, how much is necessary as to governance and maintaining the peace, and of what?
As mentioned earlier, these have been worked out with regard to the “acquis” with respect to the EU and its satellites. Not mentioned earlier, the same is true of health and medical requirements as worked out over decades by the Polish health system, which is world-renowned in this regard. Like the acquis, that material sits embedded in documents, not yet available to the touchscreens of the world.
As Poland awakens from its “King Theoden”-like nightmare, it may come to remember this and other aspects of its unique contribution to history…
Where now are the horse and the rider? Where is the horn that was blowing?
Where is the helm and the hauberk, and the bright hair flowing?
Where is the harp on the harpstring, and the red fire glowing?
Where is the spring and the harvest and the tall corn growing?
They have passed like rain on the mountain, like a wind in the meadow;
The days have gone down in the West behind the hills into shadow.
Who shall gather the smoke of the deadwood burning,
Or behold the flowing years from the Sea returning?
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Two Towers (An old song of the Rohirrim, recited in the Common Speech by Aragorn)
Faced with such a “Technopolar Moment” as Brenner describes, what is to be done? There are two obvious responses among many. First could be to stroke one’s chin in contemplative rhythm until nodding off.
Upon reawakening, you might feel better for a while. This is reminiscent of the famous act of “researching” a possible vaccine which is readily available, without ever partaking of it.
Second could be to ask, “How is this to be done?”
One place to find out would be a 2014 report to the European Commission on the subject with respect to the Polish Health System. It involved integration and documentation of policies as processes.
Is the pain simply too great? For this, we return again to Tolkien’s masterpiece:
Slowly the lights of the torches in front of Merry flicked and went out, and he was walking in a darkness; and he thought: “This is a tunnel leading to a tomb; there we shall stay forever.” But suddenly into his dream there fell a living voice.
“Well, Merry! Thank goodness I have found you!”
He looked up and the mist before his eyes cleared a little. There was Pippin! They were face to face in a narrow lane, but for themselves it was empty. He rubbed his eyes.
“Where is the king?” He said. “And Eowyn?” Then he stumbled and sat down on a doorstep and began to weep again.
“They must have gone up into the Citadel,” said Pippin. “I think you must have fallen asleep on your feet and taken the wrong turning. When we found out you were not with them, Gandalf sent me to look for you. Poor old Merry! How glad I am to see you again! But you are worn out, and I won’t bother you with any talk. But tell me, are you hurt, or wounded?”
“No,” said Merry. “Well, no, I don’t think so. But I can’t use my right arm, Pippin, not since I stabbed him. And my sword burned away like a piece of wood.”
Pippin’s face was anxious. “Well, you had better come with me as quick as you can,” he said. “I wish I could carry you. You aren’t fit to walk any further. They shouldn’t have let you walk at all; but you must forgive them. So many dreadful things have happened in the City, Merry, that one poor hobbit coming in from battle is easily overlooked.”
“It’s not always a misfortune being overlooked,” said Merry. “I was overlooked just now by — no, no, I can’t speak of it. Help me, Pippin! It’s all going dark again, and my arm is so cold.”
“Lean on me, Merry lad!” said Pippin. “Come now. Foot by foot. It’s not far.”
“Are you going to bury me?” said Merry.
“No, indeed!” said Pippin, trying to sound cheerful, though his heart was wrung with fear and pity. “No, we are going to the Houses of Healing.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King