Globalisation 2004/09/12; During the last days i involuntarily came to the, quit shocking, conclusion that what we call globalisation is a necessary, logical development - and perhaps not a bad thing as such.
It comes with the sacrifice of our original cultures and the loss of many things typical for a region - but as change is happening, the past will probably not disappear without a trace. At least it hardly completely. The environment shapes cultures (Bateson) less then it used to, but the traces are engrained in our languages, physiognomy and architectures. How much of these will remain? We live mostly indoors not exposed to weather and seasons. Physiognomies are nowadays subject to change as well. Architecture has evolved into an international style - with use of local materials. An Airport is simple indistinguishable from any other airport. Looking at photographs from the airports of Athens, Munich or San Francisco. Without a legend one cannot tell which is which.
So, is this all good are bad? I don't know, and besides it is the wrong question. It is an inevitable movement which some observe with caution and regret, but for the following generations it will be their natural environment.
In William Gibsons' "Neuromancer" trilogy multinational corporations issue passports and currencies and the influence of governments can be neglected. Buckminster Fuller is predicting this movement as well. The Starbucks, McDonalds, TieRacks and Guggenheims create a true international style. Not a good one, i suppose, but one that creates the smallest common denominator for the viral effection of involved cultures. Adding the dimension of time to it, and in 20, 30 years, this will have become the norm. It will be what the next generation is familiar with, which it trusts and takes for granted. Its "un-natural" habitat.
Bernard Rudofsky, vernacular architecture. His rantings are just an echo.
Change in japanese society
The regrets of Tanizkai Junichiro of the missed chance of the japanese people of developing their own means (and aesthetics) of transport, light and energy will not matter in 100 years any more: They will have become the japaneses' own.
The Google IPO message: "Dont be evil" (What kind of message is this? It doesn't define WHO & WHAT they want to be. It is defensive - not constructive. They define themselves over a "Anti" position. "Don't be ..." instead of "Be ...".)
http://www.colorcalm.com
"AtmosTM is an innovative ambient media company ... aiming to make the world a better place"
A hygienic screensaver for your TVs - keeping the fast, bad, violent world out - and blue skies in.
These are just brief, callow notes. I hope to expand them in the future as thoughts are developing. Hopefully i am all wrong.
(Oh yes, it all started with being in Boston. Then reading some Edward Said, Samuel Huntington, Franklin & Jefferson, Jürgen Habermas - and thoguhts about Fundamentalism. Mobile phones and Starbucks are the cause - and antidote for Fundamentalism. Time will tell.)
Habermas: http://www.logosjournal.com/habermas_america.htm
The End of faith, Sam Harris polemic against faiths:
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/08/15/RVG4U82SE81.DTL
Huntingtons critique of Mexicans in the US:
http://www.taemag.com/issues/articleid.18144/article_detail.asp
Worth a read: Josef Fischers turn away from fundamentalism:
http://bostonreview.net/BR29.3/hockenos.html
And Michael Venturas beautiful & brilliant summary of it all:
Its not my country:
http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2004-07-09/cols_ventura.html
I don't aggree with everyting that is said in the articles (BTW from Arts & Letters) but they are thought provoking. And thats what it is all about.
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