With all this social networking, perhaps soon everyone will officially be everyone else's friend. Won't that be nice? Maybe that'll see an end to wars and so forth.
I'm sorry to be the nerd or the pessimist here, but, wars start mainly because of interests. Social networks cannot transcend these. So, even if the war as we understand it now ceases to exist in this form when everyone gets to meet everyone else, we might call it hacking? Or something with electronic connotations anyway.
And even if this doesn't happen, I think you'll find (in Frederik Barth's Ethnic Boundaries, I think) that it is not distant and unfamiliar populations we go to war with, (over identity i mean) but rather against neighbours. Germans-French, French-Brits, Greeks-Turks. The colonies is not an exception because it falls under the previous category of interests.
The only way I can see your thought working is if the social networks transcend the state structure (interests: politicians, elites, etc; and welfare), which is highly unlikely to happen any time soon.
A global self-regulated society? Was that the point or have i stretched it too far?
I think that Justin Case should become friends with Bill Board, Annette Curtain should become friends with Terry Bull, Doug Hole should become friends with himself, and Mary Christmas should become friends with the prime minister of Portugal.
Paul: It's a nice thought, yes, helps keep you going.
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I'm sorry to be the nerd or the pessimist here, but, wars start mainly because of interests. Social networks cannot transcend these. So, even if the war as we understand it now ceases to exist in this form when everyone gets to meet everyone else, we might call it hacking? Or something with electronic connotations anyway.
And even if this doesn't happen, I think you'll find (in Frederik Barth's Ethnic Boundaries, I think) that it is not distant and unfamiliar populations we go to war with, (over identity i mean) but rather against neighbours. Germans-French, French-Brits, Greeks-Turks. The colonies is not an exception because it falls under the previous category of interests.
The only way I can see your thought working is if the social networks transcend the state structure (interests: politicians, elites, etc; and welfare), which is highly unlikely to happen any time soon.
A global self-regulated society? Was that the point or have i stretched it too far?
That will be nice.
Jinjir Minjir: I'm sure you are right.
I think that Justin Case should become friends with Bill Board, Annette Curtain should become friends with Terry Bull, Doug Hole should become friends with himself, and Mary Christmas should become friends with the prime minister of Portugal.
Paul: It's a nice thought, yes, helps keep you going.
I think that's what put me off certain websites... what the hell does the word friend mean now?
Lee: Yes, friendliness seemed a good idea in the 1960s, but since then it's all gone horribly wrong.
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