In short, if there were an acronym to sum up the key characteristics or principles of contemporary international affairs from a “quantum social science” standpoint, it would be “CPU” – Complexity, Paradox, and Uncertainty. But as mentioned before, the status quo of Washington’s whole-of-government policy from a domestic policy standpoint has been based on two pillars for a very long time, namely, cutting taxes for the super-rich at the expense of both social services and social welfare for the people, and increasing immigration so that there are more employees for the rich to choose from and to keep wages low.
But what many middle-class or upper-middle class White-Americans overlook is that there are certain jobs that immigrants are willing to take up which many White-Americans are unwilling to take up, given that many White-Americans expect sinecure and white-collar jobs out a sense of racial entitlement. Nevertheless, the influx of immigrants to the United States has fostered the infamous “Replacement Theory” amongst a certain segment of the white population. But in what sense the “replacement” is to take root is a complex, paradoxical, and uncertain issue given that it is unlikely, for instance, that a Hispanic, Muslim, or even a Jew would be elected as president anytime soon. Nor is it likely that people of color would replace whites in the manner by which whites replaced Native Americans.
But as mentioned before, everything comes down to education and knowledge, especially in a postmodern context defined by ontological turbulence due to the influx of knowledge and information as a result of globalization and technology. And in terms of education and knowledge, the irony is that the most overlooked and marginalized community in the United States – namely, the Muslim community – actually has the highest rate of education amongst both men and women relative to the rest of the American population. And as a result of globalization and technology, it may not be required for a highly educated Muslim to have a seat at the table in a physical sense in, say, the “National Security Council” (NSC) or Congress in order to influence the affairs of international society.
Thus, the stonewalling, obfuscation, and obstruction on the part of certain individuals and groups will most likely be rendered futile and obsolete in a postmodern context defined by the key “quantum” principles of complexity, paradox, and uncertainty due to a large extent to major advancements and evolutions in key areas of human life such as globalization and technology. And while the inclination and impulse of certain individuals and groups will be to ignore and shut out voices and viewpoints which were marginalized and suppressed for a very long time, there is now a platform that is either ready-made or self-generated for all types of people to be heard and to be made visible. And with the evolution and transformation of the global public sphere as a result of the virtual annexation of the physical world by the “cloud” and internet, having a “professional managerial elite” who usurps physical space and public resources for jobs and tasks that have essentially evolved and transformed simply to perpetuate an obsolete colonial and hegemonic discourse is also quite questionable.
Adam A. Azim 