None of us saw digital colonialism coming. Now we must live with its consequences | Julianne Schultz

The perverse principles of the 1970s that powered the tech titans have left us with a world where the richest 1% own nearly two-thirds of its wealth

In the early 1980s hand-written chalk signs started appearing on the sidewalks of my grungy Manhattan neighbourhood: Whoever has the most toys when he dies, wins. At that time New York City was still recovering from near bankruptcy and those who could were leaving in record numbers. Crime and homelessness were rife, crack cocaine was offered on every corner.

The sidewalk message was clear: consumerism is a con, resist it, stuff won't matter when you're dead.