Professor Heru Nugroho from the Department of Sociology at the UGM Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (Fisipol UGM), along with other authors Gregorius Ragil Wibawanto, A.B. Widyanta, and Rizqyansyah Fitraramadhana, has written a book titled “Proliferation of Critical Social Thought: Interpreting Emancipation, Rejecting Dehumanization.”
Published by Kanisius and spanning 314 pages, the book presents critical social thought on the development and practice of digital technologies and the transformative impact of liberal economic-political changes on the loss of citizens’ rights.
The advancement of technology is inevitable. On one hand, sophisticated and modern technology provides various conveniences in all aspects of human life. On the other hand, the inequalities it causes lead to phenomena of dehumanization.
From a critical sociological perspective, the book’s arguments attempt to elaborate on the gap between inequalities and the adverse effects of neoliberal changes.
The vulnerability of workers due to technology, society’s digital rights, accessibility to education, and privatization of public services become problematic issues that threaten societal well-being. This book invites readers to think critically and find solutions to this unavoidable modernization.
Author Rizqyansyah Fitraramadhana also expressed concern about the difficulty accessing education in Indonesia. According to Fitraramadhana, the challenging access to higher education hinders achieving Indonesia Emas 2024 (Golden Indonesia 2024).
The era when Indonesia will face a demographic bonus is both a blessing and a challenge. Strong and massive intellectual resources are needed to achieve development goals.
“Of course, universities as education agents play a crucial role in producing human resources capable of mastering new skills,” said Fitraramadhana in a press release sent on Thursday (Apr. 4).
Fitraramadhana mentioned that the situation creates a paradox where Golden Indonesia requires a large number of human resources, but on the other hand, we find the reality of increasingly high tuition fees.
Another paradox is, for instance, the government’s desire for highly skilled resources, yet the state budget funds for higher education are less than 2%.
“According to UNESCO’s recommendation, it should be at least 2%, but we are still in the range of 0.3-0.6%,” he added.
The book addresses education and discusses society’s readiness to accept technological developments as an important issue. The speed of information dissemination and its easy accessibility make it impossible to filter information networks.
On the other hand, society is still vulnerable to discerning information in digital media. This phenomenon gives rise to more severe problems, such as the spread of hoaxes, misinformation, and even AI-based scams.
Author: Tasya
Editor: Gusti Grehenson
Image: Freepik