Postnormal times
Hey!
So far we have talked about a lot of different technologies. We also looked at what the UN is doing with their Sustainable Development Goals. On another part of the website we also learned a bit about concerns for the futures.
What I want to talk about here is something called ‘postnormal times’.
What are postnormal times?
To keep it simple, postnormal times are a time when the things that we used to call normal are no longer suited for our daily life. I know that doesn’t make it a lot easier to understand but let me give you an example.
Imagine that there is a law that states that you can have slaves. In the past there used to be a law called the “slave code”. One of these slave codes stated that if you killed your slaves you would not be committing a crime. Can you imagine that? If this slave code was still in the law at this point in time the people would riot! It makes no sense at all to have that law when there is a ban on slavery so why is it still there? This is one example of what I mean by postnormal times. In this case we evolved past slavery so if there was still a law in place that said it is okay to kill your own slave then that law would be outdated for the time period we are now in.
Another example is something that you may be more familiar with and happened in the USA. These days everyone can buy a 3D printer. There was no law that states that you can not print your own gun with your 3D printer. You could even find a lot of blueprints for the different parts online. This sparked a whole debate on whether this should be illegal or not. There currently is a law in place in the US that makes it illegal to make 3D printed firearms except by registered manufacturers. You also can’t distribute the plans for the guns online.
The problem with these new technologies is that there sometimes are no laws in place for them and people can do whatever they want. I hope you can see why this was a problem and that there should be some regulations in place.
The futures?
But is that a bad thing? I think it isn't. Let me explain to you why.
Human nature and society keep evolving just like technology does. And whenever we progress past a certain point, the laws in place become outdated. What happens then is that we enter a period of uncertainty. Sometimes there are even full scale rebellions against the system in place! What happens during this chaotic period is that a lot of people come together and think about what is happening. They see and know that there is a problem with the rules and that the rules need to change to be more fitting for the current society.
It is a time of evolution, a time of change! And is change, in the form of progress, really a bad thing?
