A global network is too large and complex for a bureaucracy to manage. It would be too slow, expensive, and inefficient to be of value. Further, even if one could be built, it would be impossible to apply market dyanmics (via democratic elections) to selecting the leaders of that bureaucracy. The diversity in the views of the 7 billion of us on this planet are too vast.
In terms of markets, a global marketplace is too unstable. Interlinked, and tightly coupled markets are prone to frequent and disasterous failures. Additionally, a global marketplace is easy for insiders to corrupt and rig, as we saw with the 2008 financial melt-down. Given instability and unmitigated corruption, markets will fail as a decision making mechanism.
So, what’s going to replace bureaucracy and markets?
We don’t have digestible names for them yet. However, let’s just call them few to many (F2M) systems and P2P systems. F2M systems are run by a few people and delivered to a great many people. In contrast to broadcast, these systems are interactive and smart. Many use software bots to gather and process data 24/7.
P2P systems allow ad hoc interaction between indepedent individuals. Every node in this type of system is an equal to any other. They are not dependent on each other.
Both types of systems have value. Both have problems. Both are immature. As we move to an information based global economy, we’ll see these systems increasingly dominate the playing field (to the detriment of bureaucracy and markets).
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