… or should it be “Hierarchy Vs. Wirearchy, Round 3” ?
I’ve long believed and stated that wirearchy will not replace hierarchy, rather that the combination of useful, health hierarchy and the power and reach of distributed networks will combine, and that it might come to be called “wirearchy” some day.
Here’s Micah Sifry on The Rise of Open-Source Politics, via JOHO:
This last line of Micah’s piece …
“Just imagine when they take that habit into their adult lives, and start rating other authority figures, like politicians and bosses. The future is in their hands, though the rest of us will be taken along for the ride.”
reads just like the introduction on the Wirearchy site.
Here’s the first paragraph of Micah’s piece …
“Whether you’re a Democrat in mourning or a Republican in glee, the results from election day should not obscure an important shift in America’s civic life.
New tools and practices born on the Internet have reached critical mass, enabling ordinary people to participate in processes that used to be closed to them. It may seem like cold comfort for Kerry supporters now, but the truth is that voters don’t have to rely on elected or self-appointed leaders to chart the way forward anymore.
The era of top-down politics–where campaigns, institutions and journalism were cloistered communities powered by hard-to-amass capital–is over.
Something wilder, more engaging and infinitely more satisfying to individual participants is arising alongside the old order.
Leave a Reply