35 days to go…
“There are those who predict that (internationalisation) in its present form will go on and on base their belief in the power of technology, whether in aviation, the computer, the satellite, or a host of other fields. But the biggest single influence on the rapid shrinking of the world is not new technology, vital as it is. More influential is the present relative peace in the world.
This is a period of relative international peace—the Balkans not withstanding–between the big nations. But if international relations become tense and nationalism becomes more aggressive, as will probably happen at lease once in the next 50 years, the latest technology will cease to be so effective in bridging gaps. In times of tension, new technology erects rather than erases barriers. Indeed, much of our new communication technology arose—or was improved—during World War II and the Cold War. It was designed initially to divide: it can do so again”
Geoffrey Blainey July 1999
..or as that intellectual gymnast Marshall McLuhan said thirty years ago about television creating a ‘global village’, it is popular today to see the Internet as permanently making a global community. (This was before 2003 when China re-claimed Taiwan from the pre-1949 Chinese Nationalists and the US bombed Shanghai and Australia sent in all our 16 000 troops and our Medicare levy went up 5000% therefore no one could afford to log onto their ISP anymore).
…more to come…