The Internet and a New World Order: Part II

On September 28, 2009, I wrote "The Internet and a New World Order." In that entry, I talked about the global economy. I described the Pandora's Box we had opened and how isolationism and protectionism were no longer viable, sustainable options. I saw people around the world in a state of flux as we collectively jostle and shift to find a more comfortable position while on our path to achieving equilibrium. The global economic landscape is no longer a scene of soaring peaks and gaping chasms.

The line graph which illustrated the sharp divides where one or two countries held all the advantages while other nations seemed destined scuffle and struggle, to snatch at what scraps fell from the bounty that remained just out their reach, is quickly becoming obsolete. Instead, we're much more fluid. The landscape undulates, rolls, is no longer static, the status quo—constantly shifting. Innovation, invention, competition and adaptability increasingly determines who can ride the wave with some measure of success.

In that article, I also wrote about the Internet and its impact, influence being felt around the world. Societies which allow their people free and unbiased access to the Internet have given them the ability to perceive the global standard of living. In doing so they, perhaps unwittingly, challenge their citizens to  recognize their own potential.  Ironically, they have also helped their populations to define their—often government controlled—limitations.

In a democracy there is an established framework which allows its people a means to adapt to eccentricities and opportunities in the marketplace. In an autocracy, such as we have just witnessed in Egypt, the populace will begin to chafe against a regime which stifles and constrains their options.

It's certain that governments around the world are taking note of the role the Internet and social networking played in the recent uprisings in Iran, Tunisia and Egypt. Unfortunately, some administrations will recognize the potential danger this could mean to their own authority and act decisively to increase their control over unrestricted access to the world wide web by their people. North Korea has already taken this tactic to the extreme, and as a result their citizens live in very grim conditions, virtually cut off from the outside world.

In some countries, I suspect we are about to witness a radical shift in policies regarding Internet access. They may try to slam shut the lid, but—too late—the pitfalls and the possibilities found in the Pandora's Box of our global connectedness are already loose upon the world.  

~ Robin