Trust Webs¶
The systems of governance native to the Internet Epoch are going to emerge out of this. Anybody who is trying to build institutions today, of whatever kind*, would be wise to immerse themselves in the way this stuff works. It will take time to shape the order of the world, but it isn’t going away. The same can very much not be said for the nation states of the Gutenberg Era, whose recession is already unmistakable.
Virtually speaking, there is nothing serious left for the Westphalian state to do. Of course, anybody expecting these relics to die tidily is almost certainly deluding themselves. Making the Westphalian order set the world to the torch. Its unmaking is unlikely to be much easier.
*[ahem]
ADDED: Related —
Here's why bitcoin will be bigger than the internet http://t.co/CsxfUMvf3U via @businessinsider @xapo
— Wences Casares (@wences) February 11, 2015