A new type of community

The tools and knowledge of one nation belong to all nations

When you look at today’s headlines, it’s easy to scoff at the idea that the world is coming together, or the internet has a meaningful role to play. How does a post or a Like stack up against the armies of ISIS, or a column of Russian tanks?

Certainly, the international community has never seemed more divided since the Cold War. But look beyond the flashpoints of today — and the community of nations — and a very different world comes into sight.

Today, 3 billion people have access to the internet. Hundreds of millions of people are now part of online communities. Around 1.5 billion people use Facebook, more than a billion people use Google and 900 million people use WhatsApp.

Admittedly, more than 4 billion people aren’t online. Right now the middle classes enjoy most of the benefits of connectivity. But that doesn’t lessen the internet’s impact.

The internet is the largest community in history — as big as the global population in 1960. It crosses every border and culture. And enough people are connected that the internet has become a planetary infrastructure for communications and collaboration. The tools and knowledge of one nation now belong to all nations.

And an internet that connects the middle classes is immensely powerful.

Throughout history, the middle class has been the greatest driver of social, economic and political change. The middle classes are opposed to the inequitable concentration of power and resources, against violence, and supporters of civil liberties and the rule of law.

But the internet isn’t just serving the existing middle class — it’s expanding it. Research by Deloitte also finds that if more people were connected in developing countries, 160 million people could escape poverty, 140 million new jobs be created and 600 million children receive education.

This is how the internet creates the foundation for a more united world.

As the internet drives social and economic progress, it strengthens the middle class in all nations and brings them into a global middle class, connected by shared tools and knowledge. And as the international community descends into chaos, a rising planetary community is changing lives and communities everywhere — and bringing the world together.

This is happening in three main ways.