#liquid world

[angelocerantola]

Lost in Reflections © A. Cerantola

[underpaidgenius]

There are no autonomous individ­uals without an autonomous society, and the autonomy of society requires deliberate and perpetually deliberated self-constitution, something that may be only a shared accomplishment of its mem­bers.

- Zygmunt Bauman, Liquid Modernity

[underpaidgenius]

The world is moving faster than our thought about the world. The newly fluid international landscape in places like the Middle East, the accelerating disintegration of the economic underpinnings of the blue social model, the increasing effect of technological progress on white collar as well as blue collar employment and incomes through automation and outsourcing, the collapse of public faith in establishments and elites in so much of the world: these dramatic and fundamental changes require a re-examination of some basic assumptions and the reconstruction of many of the basic institutions of both US and global society. It appears that while investors panic quickly and head for the exits at the first sign of trouble, many politicians, journalists and social thinkers go to sleep when the fire alarms begin to ring. The success of the West in establishing a solid set of social, political and economic institutions and policies after World War Two was so durable that we came to believe that the arrangements made then would last forever, and that further change would be slow and evolutionary rather than quick and disruptive. The success of central banks and governments at reining in inflation, easing recessions and achieving soft landings in the 1980s and 1990s further reassured us that while there were some problems and dangers here and there, our house stood on firm foundations and was structurally sound. I still hope the old house can weather one more storm, but it is clear that we can no longer take that for granted. The ground under the foundations is washing away; the wind threatens to rip off the roof, and cracks are appearing in load bearing walls. Sooner rather than later we are going to have to redesign and rebuild. Financial market crashes come and go; the world may spin back into recession or the economy may wobble for a bit and then stabilize. But we’ve had a glimpse into the abyss; in Europe, in Asia and in the Americas some of our most fundamental institutions and social policies are going to have to change.

- Walter Russell Mead,  Panic?

[underpaidgenius]

Here in the United States we have been debating how many of the 100,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, up against some 100 Al Qaeda operatives and maybe 25,000 Taliban, should be withdrawn, when perhaps we should have been focused on another set of numbers: Cellphone penetration in Afghanistan was at 30 percent in 2009, is now at 50 percent and will be at 70 percent before long, so how do we ensure this dramatic trend empowers in positive rather than negative ways? Texting can be good counterterrorism. (Oh, and let’s make a call to the Afghan president on one of those mobile phones that goes like this: “Mr Karzai, listen up dude, we’re going to cut the number of troops fast enough so you get the message we’re not bankrolling your fork-tongued ruses any longer.”) Karzai too will pass. What won’t is that technology and international relations are becoming interchangeable topics. There are many more networks in our future than treaties. I don’t think the world’s leaders have begun to grasp the implications of unstoppable connectivity. Some people are calling this the Age of Behavior: What I do affects what you do, more directly than ever before.

- Roger Cohen, Positive Disruption

I can't find a citation of "The Age Of Behavior" anywhere, so Cohen must have heard it in private conversation. However, it sounds like he just means connectivity. I am pushing for the full vision of a liquid world: mobile, social, connected and webbed.