The Fluid Society

A Different Approach to Physics

Article 2 in the series: In Search of the Foundations of Reality A New Perspective on Reality and Its Underlying Unity Disclaimer The ideas presented in this series of articles are speculative and have not been experimentally confirmed. They are intended as a philosophical and ontological exploration of possible underlying structures of physical reality, rather than… Continue reading A Different Approach to Physics

What Was Nothing Preceded By?

Article 1 in the series: In Search of the Foundations of Reality When we try to think about the beginning of reality, we almost immediately become trapped in language. After all, our words emerged within an existing world of space, time, matter and causality. Concepts such as emergence, movement, change or process already presuppose the existence… Continue reading What Was Nothing Preceded By?

From Muscle Man to Network Man

When we look at the history of humanity, it becomes clear that human societies have developed through several major phases. Each phase not only introduced new technologies, but also fundamentally changed how people lived, cooperated and organised themselves. The first major phase was that of nomadic humanity. Small groups of hunter-gatherers moved across the landscape… Continue reading From Muscle Man to Network Man

Time, Information and the Fluid Society

Without processes there is no time. We often speak of “the turbulent times we live in” as if time itself were a container in which events unfold. That image is misleading — especially in a world that is becoming increasingly digital and fluid. Neither the past nor the future exist as independent physical realities. There is only… Continue reading Time, Information and the Fluid Society

The World in Transition

We are living in a time when everything seems to change at once. Geopolitical power shifts, the overexploitation of our planet, climate change and loss of biodiversity all overlap. Since World War II, the world’s population has quadrupled to around eight billion people — who on average consume several times more than a generation ago.… Continue reading The World in Transition

Europe must develop its own IT services

This article has been published on 20 August 2025 in iBestuur Introduction. Europe currently accounts for about a quarter of Big Tech’s global revenue. The United States, with a smaller population, uses significantly more Big Tech services per capita. If Europe were to reach a similar per-person usage level as the US, the European IT… Continue reading Europe must develop its own IT services

A Minister for Digitalisation in the Next Dutch Cabinet

The Taskforce-Digital-Sovereign-Europe regularly publishes articles on Europe’s digital sovereignty. The following article was recently published in the Dutch journal iBestuur (https://ibestuur.nl/artikel/pleidooi-voor-minister-van-digitalisering-in-nieuw-kabinet/) With new elections and the formation of a new cabinet on the horizon, the political spotlight is once again turning to digitalisation. The Taskforce Digital Sovereign Europe spoke with Roel Bekker, former Secretary-General and… Continue reading A Minister for Digitalisation in the Next Dutch Cabinet

The United States of Europe

A future vision for a strong, cooperative continent The problem with superpowers. Today’s world order is being held hostage by three superpowers: the United States, Russia, and China. Each seems to believe the globe can be neatly divided into spheres of influence — Russia over Europe, the US over the Americas, and China over Asia.… Continue reading The United States of Europe

The Fluid Society or How Digitalization Transforms Society

Introduction. This article is a chapter and update from the book The Digital Challenge for Europe (2021) and originally appeared in the book De Vloeibare Samenleving (2017). The digitalization of society is driving massive changes in the way people and organizations live and operate, which will eventually necessitate new forms of governance for societies. To better understand this transformation,… Continue reading The Fluid Society or How Digitalization Transforms Society

Can Europe Survive Without Its Own Big Tech?

This article was published on 2 April 2025 in i-Bestuur as an opinion piece: https://ibestuur.nl/artikel/kan-europa-overleven-zonder-eigen-big-tech/ If Europe wants to survive economically in the digital age, it must develop its own large international Big Tech companies and a European digital ecosystem. Simplifying the many regulatory and fiscal barriers within Europe, along with creating a dynamic European capital market,… Continue reading Can Europe Survive Without Its Own Big Tech?