The digital revolution rides at a good pace and fills more and more spaces in our lives. It is one of those trends that the pandemic has accelerated and whose changes will hardly be reversed. In addition, it is one of the factors that creates the greatest insecurity and uncertainty in a large part of the population, especially the most vulnerable. The increase in the digital divide, which goes far beyond having technology, is one of the great vectors of inequality. A 21st century social democracy must host proposals to manage the challenges that this revolution brings with it.
The first and fundamental is linked to employment. While it is true that the effect that digitization may have on job destruction is far from clear, what already seems certain is that it will particularly affect jobs with lower pay. At least in Europe and the new jobs created in the heat of the digital revolution will be in the top 30% of the salary scale. This requires revisiting debates and proposals related to the improvement or assurance of the Welfare State such as basic income or other similar ones, in addition to increasing the importance of the aforementioned pre-distribution policies.
Another great element is that referring to the governance of digitization. It is time to ask the right questions and not be wrong about them, since it is evident that more and more aspects of daily life are mediated by technology. Who owns the data, what type of information can be built with them, if citizens have any negotiating capacity in contracts with large technology companies or if, on the contrary, they are an imposition to continue browsing or accessing some services are some of those questions. Along with them, the role of the public and the private must also be defined.