Politics and Law Eliminating Social Division, Facing Industry 4.0

KOMPAS/WAWAN H PRABOWO

President Joko Widodo (right) greets Prabowo Subianto, his rival in the 2019 and 2014 elections, on 13 July 2019 at the Lebak Bulus MRT station in South Jakarta.

After an exhausting political year, the Indonesian nation is to undertake another major task on entering 2020: eliminate social division, which is already worrisome. This is needed so that the image of the “imagined community” named Indonesia is safeguarded amid rapid change.

Following the 2019 general elections, the two presidential rivals in the 2014 and 2019 elections, Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Prabowo Subianto, have joined hands and begun working in the same government. The polarization between their supporters, which was widespread in the digital sphere as well as the offline arena, has now receded slightly.

However, the divisiveness that has placed members of the public at odds with each other at two extreme poles has only gone dormant. It could arise again at any time when the right circumstances and actor arrive. This is because the polarization emerged not solely from the fierce contest between the two political actors, and is a symptom of chronic social issues, including inequalities that have given rise to a sense of injustice, so that the public is inclined to be dragged into the opposing narrative of “us” and “them”.

In Southeast Asia, Indonesia is experiencing a comparatively serious social division. This is shown by the Social Polarization Indicator in the Varieties of Democracy index of Sweden’s V-Dem Institute. Indonesia scored 0.27 on the index in 2018, whereas the mean score among Southeast Asian countries that same year was 1.7. On a scale of 0-4, a score of 0 indicates serious polarization, with society having different views on almost every political issue. A score of 1 indicates moderate polarization, followed by medium (2), limited polarization (3) and no polarization (4).

Kompas/Heru Sri Kumoro

Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto (right) chats with Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Mahfud M.D. shortly before attending a limited Cabinet meeting on Thursday (31/10/2019) at the Presidential Office in Jakarta.

Meanwhile, the 2019 Country Vulnerability Index points to Indonesia’s improving condition in the last 14 years, distancing itself from failed countries. But it has worsened in the group dissatisfaction indicator, which refers to intergroup divisions and social disintegration. In 2006, Indonesia scored 6.3 in this indicator and 7.3 in 2019. On a scale of 0-10, the higher the score, the worse the condition.

Polarization needs to be resolved promptly because in this era of extremely rapid change, it is becoming more difficult to maintain the “imagined community” named Indonesia. Industry 4.0 is expected to accelerate in the next 5-10 years to change economic, social, cultural and political structures.

The fourth industrial revolution is characterized by a convergence of digital, biological and physical innovations. The production process will be influenced by, among others, automation, big data and the internet of things (IoT) – digital and smart devices that connect with analog equipment and people over a data network.

Industry 4.0 is the fourth stage of the industrial revolution. The first industrial revolution was marked by mechanized manufacturing and the invention of the steam engine; the second industrial revolution was dominated by mass industrial production and the invention of electricity; and the third was characterized by the emergence of the internet and the digitization and automation of production (Klaus

Schwab, “The Fourth Industrial Revolution”, Brittanica.com). On the positive side, Industry 4.0 opens broad opportunities for those able to adapt to change. New industries and job fields will be created.

On the other hand, automation can also mean job loss, because humans employed to do routine work will be replaced by artificial intelligence (AI) and machines. In addition, the gig economy of Industry 4.0 is increasing the number of temporary jobs. The sociopolitical implication of this phenomenon cannot be trivialized, as it has the potential to expand the “precariat” social class that is anxious, frustrated and alienated due to the threat of precarity (insecure, unpredictable existence).

The group also includes people who are required to handle excessive multitasking, are unable to control their own time and who face continuous pressures.

Guy Standing defines the precariat in The Precariat: The New Dangerous Class (2011) as a group of people constantly engaged in temporary jobs who are faced with extreme uncertainty. The group also includes people who are required to handle excessive multitasking, are unable to control their own time and who face continuous pressures.

This condition of precarious existence is a fertile ground of social divisiveness that will eventually disrupt the social cohesion that has so far maintained a unified, pluralistic Indonesia. This will be increasingly the case if “identity entrepreneurs” appear that direct the precariats’ anger and anxiety at a certain “scapegoat”, state system, socioeconomic class or ethnic group.

Therefore, a government that works for the public interest through inclusive development policies and programs becomes necessary, so that no societal component society feels even the slightest sense of being marginalized. The government should be relevant to the people. At the same time, the government should maintain as part of its priority program corruption eradication – which has upset the public with recent developments.

Civil society management

The 2019 general elections, with all its pluses and minuses, ended safely. Post-election national politics, theoretically, was stable after the government of President Jokowi and Vice President Ma’ruf Amin gained control of 74.26 percent of the legislature. The domination of the House of Representatives (DPR) by government parties can facilitate legislation and draft budgets to better execute the programs promised during the campaign.

KOMPAS/RADITYA HELABUMI

Members of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) share a light moment on Tuesday (17/12/2019) during the presentation of the 2016-2019 KPK performance report at the KPK headquarters in Jakarta. Pictured are (from left) KPK Deputy Chair Laode M. Syarif, KPK chairman Agus Rahardjo, KPK Deputy Chair Basaria Panjaitan, KPK Deputy Chair Alexander Marwata and KPK Deputy Chair Saut Situmorang, who stated that the KPK had saved the state Rp 63.8 trillion in losses through is surveillance and prevention measures, which included 87 sting operations (OTT) that netted 327 corruption suspects.

On the other hand, power should be consolidated by guaranteeing civil liberties to the public in expressing their aspirations, opinions and criticisms. The public’s voice should be heeded. The elite should learn from the series of demonstrations in September 2019 that expressed the people’s anger at their voice being ignored. Societal elements in many cities protested against the House of 2014-2019 for hastily endorsing several bills that were viewed as problematic, including the revised Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Law that was deemed an attempt to weaken the anticorruption body.

With the elite now consolidated, Indonesia needs a strong civil society as a check and balance on the elite’s performance in remaining accountable to the people and in the process, guarantee that the rights of all citizens are protected. The public must take an active role in controlling the elite, because the model of intra-elite control is often ineffective (Acemoglu and Robinson, The Narrow Corridor: States, Societies, and the Fate of Liberty, 2019).

Let us hope that in the new year, all stakeholders are ready to contribute to eliminating the prevalence of social division.