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Originally Posted by The Unfan
This could be argued back to the bartering days of old. The fact is it is drastically different. Computers cut out a lot of middle men, make it easier to invest less in advertising while also making it tempting to invest more, makes networking easier, makes global commerce almost requisite if you intend to make it big (and in that sense redefines big), and shifts lots of jobs. I would agree that mom & pop stores stay pretty much the same, but anything on a larger scale is drastically different.
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No the bartering days of old would have been different, because they didnt have ideas like investment, advertising, global commerce. But all of these things you mentioned occured BEFORE the invention of the internet, so all we really did was improve on what was already there. Your idea is not cohesive and all around the place. Of course it makes networking easier, of course it moved jobs around. So did the telephone, so did the train, so did the invention of industry scale operations... all before the internet. Dont get me wrong I am not saying the internet didnt do anything new, all I am saying is that every generation has some technology put forth to them that the previous one didnt have and they take the old ideas and just polish em off into newer and better ones. Thats life. You keep thinking for some reason that because you lived during this time that its the most special and different, its not. People use to get in fist fights over girls in 500 AD and people still do it today. For as much as we are different, we are all very alike.
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Unfan
But it has bridged a lot of gaps. The internet has created the most socially open collective in probably the history of the world. That alone is one of the biggest steps of social progression in history. All the conventional social structures have been tossed out the window and all is well. The internet has a certain aloofness and whimsy to it that I'm not even quite sure I fully understand but it is telling of something I've probably yet to fully understand. Its like San Francisco but crazier.
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I think more people from different nations talking to eachother on some online collective as you call it is pale in comparison to realizing that slavery was wrong. That was a MUCH bigger step in "social progression". Giving women equal voting rights and a place in the work force is just another example of a MUCH bigger step in "social progression". Not to say that the internet hasnt done any good, I think it is most definetly a step in the right direction (even if telecommunications companies want to rob you of your freedom). I also agree that it is something crazy, unexplainable, and does change everything is a profound way. I think you are caught up in the awe of it and are kinda blowing it out of perportion. You act as if before the invention of the internet man was a primate.
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Unfan
Also is forced desegregation really a good thing? Shouldn't it be up to the property owner to decide who they service and for what reasons?
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Ya, it is. However I am also a firm believer in the constitution. Which guaruantees that all men were created equally and further guaruantees a man liberty (a souls right to live freely). Now I am in total agreement with you that an owner of an establishment should be able to decide who he serves to and why, but if that goes so far to refuse an EQUAL man entry into his establisment and infringes upon their liberty (the right for a soul to be free), then it is WRONG. I would hope to god your not dumb enough to see whats wrong with that.
Sounds like the internet did wonders for you "breaking down social barriers".