Globalism, Corporatism, etc'ism. (Score 1)

People used to aspire to nationalism, and those who followed humanism thought they were the progressive and enlightened ones.

Then the world got smaller. Now people aspire to globalism, or in bizspeak "corporatism".

What happens next, say, when humanity is spread over many worlds? "Multiglobalism"??

It's just another 'ism! It's an arbitrary human word with only as much meaning as you think it has.

Jon Katz basically asks (repeatedly ; ) the same question - "what is wrong with society?" As some people have pointed out the question encompasses more than patent law, copyright law, etc. Since the phenomenon is happening all over the world, isn't a better question - "what is wrong (and right) with humanity?"

Forgive my arrogance for saying that I think the answer to what is right and wrong in the world, is the same as what is right and wrong inside each of us. (If you know your ancient philosophy, I guess you could call this the Delphic mystery).

There are a million technical answers to our dilemna, but only one answer that will work without creating another technical problem in its wake.

Why your next door neighbour is a fucked up landlord who threw an unemployed family out on the street is probably because he/she is an unhappy person, and has a lot less to do with the SDR ratio of the US government, Micro$soft's defense of its anti-trust suit, or whatever amount SUN charges in liscencing fees.

As the bard once said, "all the world's a stage..." And when it comes down it it, that's all it is, which is something we tend to forget once "zeal" sets in. I'm not saying you should ignore the show (it's there for your enjoyment, believe it or not), but if you have trouble thinking that you can do anything to improve it, try thinking about your own part, and the things close to you. That's the best place to start.

Can you look yourself in the eye and say, "faced with the same temptations as Gates, or Case, or Alan Greenspan, would I really do anything differently? Could I actually make a bad business decision for good reasons, risk losing it all, and every good and worthy thing I could use it for in the future, forever?" If you can't say yes, then you're not part of the solution, your part of a system.

There isn't a "Citizen Case" in the world who would say to themselves "shit if I don't crush Disney's latest promo, my family won't be able to eat this week." People in that position have stepped belond the normal laws of competition, which was what held back corporate greed before the internet took off, and the only thing left to stop them spreading misery is their own internal compass.

The fact that people like that don't seem to notice the negative effects of their actions isn't because they are sociopathic monsters (the same things wrong in them are the same things wrong in you) but more likely because they cannot understand/have never seen those effects - they don't seem real and they cannot relate to them. If we don't tell them, I doubt they ever will know.

Since few people here have made any suggests about what can be done, I don't feel too stupid to say that I have an idea : "get close and personal with these people. Don't act like a criminal, or act in ways that enforce their negative concepts of what you do - or at least don't be seen acting that way (all the worlds a stage, right ; )

Who is "these people"? Well at the moment that's pretty simple - that's everyone else in the world. There are exceptions all over the world as well, some of them are on /. and if you see them you have an obligation to encourage them. Like you they are only human, they only have the power you give them, and what's right in them is right in you as well.

I don't want to get touchy-feely with either Mr Gates or Mr Case, and the good news is that I don't have to in order to reach them. The bad news is, most of us will first have to improve our ability to communicate with people, rather than with machines.

Ciao

Leo

(Feel free to spam my hotmail account - [e-mail])