John Robb has been writing about a systemic breakdown of our global networks for several years now, usually in the context of fraying national and corporate controls. He wonders how resilient American culture will prove to be if the flu pandemic worsens:
With
the swine/avian flu pandemic already at 5/6 on the CDC danger scale, we
may all soon find out (following Mexico's lead) what it means to endure
a national emergency that cancels all public gatherings, closes
borders, stops people from going to work, and creates massive
service/product disruptions. In short: severe disconnection.
Here are some quotes/links to two briefs I wrote just before the pandemic (built on concepts pioneered in Brave New War). It's useful to see it as part of a larger and increasingly common pattern of massive global shocks. This path inevitably leads to a more resilient design for the global system: one populated by resilient communities (a societal design that makes telecommuting the standard for global knowledge work).
Here are some quotes/links to two briefs I wrote just before the pandemic (built on concepts pioneered in Brave New War). It's useful to see it as part of a larger and increasingly common pattern of massive global shocks. This path inevitably leads to a more resilient design for the global system: one populated by resilient communities (a societal design that makes telecommuting the standard for global knowledge work).
Read more at Global Guerillas. The good news is that our technology allows for the retention of connectivity under some level of disruption -- quarantines, for instance. Severe disconnections of the sort Robb ponders are much more problematic (read: disastrous) because they involve, for instance, the partial shutdown of our national food delivery network.
Not exciting stuff to ponder, but relevant.
