[ExI] Wired: The New Socialism: Global Collectivist Society Is Coming Online

[ben]

Stathis wrote:
 >I guess one difference online is that no-one is in a position of real
 >power over anyone else.

Hm.  In an 'ideal internet' that would be true.  But in the real world 
we have the great firewall of china, rampant censorship in places like 
iran, and the future threat of a balkanisation of the whole internet if 
we're not very careful. I think this is an under-appreciated threat, 
because we all realise that the usual kinds of attempt to restrict 
people's access to information are doomed - but what about when the 
powers-that-be finally realise this too?  What's to stop china, russia, 
indonesia, and the muslim world from setting up their own domain name 
systems and isolating their internal public communications networks from 
the rest of the world? (wouldn't have to be physical, just impose an 
incompatible protocol).

Any traditional power structure will be very afraid of this internet 
socialism, once it becomes aware of it.  We've already seen how media 
cartels react to file-sharing.  What will governments do when they start 
sensing their power over the people slipping away?

With any luck, the acceleration of technological progress will be 
perpetually ahead of any govenments ability to realise its implications 
and successfully stifle it, but there's no guarantee.

Ben Zaiboc (waiting for someone to invent an infinitely scaleable 
network protocol that inherently resists any kind of top-down control, 
needs no domain name servers and is ready for installation on 
godzillions of smart-dust nanomachines that will unstoppably saturate 
the entire globe.  _Then_ Stathis' claim will really be true.)