GBurch1@aol.com wrote:
>
>
> > It's one thing to talk about the future of the West, about the new
> > technologies and what opportunities they will bring to those of us wealthy
> > and fortunate enough to be participating on this mailing list. But let
> > us not forget that "most people" are unlike us. It's going to be a much
> > longer road for them to share in the bountiful future we hope to see.
>
> That, of course, is the issue. What if that road can be considerably
> shortened by advances in technology? What happens if billions of people can,
> in just a brief part of a single lifetime, make the transition from
> subsistence agriculture to having all the "basics" of a technological, urban
> lifestyle?
And if we bring them to these technologically more advanced levels
quickly then we are guilty of "cultural imperialism" and have murdered
their culture and folkways. Nor is this an issue that only applies to
third world peoples. As we near the knee of the Ramp, all people
everywhere are going to see things change much faster than they are at
all comfortable with. So what sort of memes and practices do we lay to
embrace that fast pace of change and to dance happily and successfully
within it?
- samantha
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Mon May 28 2001 - 09:56:39 MDT