Digital transformation, social ranking, and the future of statehood in the time of the “Great Reset”

Abstract

Digital technologies used to identify, profile, and supervise are often hailed as the serendipitous results of inevitable progress, while the long-term consequences of their application remain beyond the attention of lawyers and politicians. This article tries to close this gap by exploring and discussing probable effects of the application of such technologies for the present model of statehood and legal order. It examines the hypothesis that the ubiquitous digitalisation of governance and the increasing attention to individuals’ reputation in the provision of public services are related to the attempt of contemporary corporate elites to perpetuate their power and resolve the problem of building a new, post-capitalist social order. The article argues that the expansion of social control through digital technologies can lead to a gradual loss of constitutional subjectivity and political power by people.