[delucain]

But, have we (the US)? We're a good solid decade or two into the age of free-flowing information, and we are trending the other direction in a frighteningly fast pace. The middle class is gone. More wealth is getting concentrated to the top than ever before in our country's history. And all the while, we have the least productive congress in history whose re-election is entirely dependent on the handouts given by those corporations that Abraham Lincoln warned us about. The few bills that are being passed are often written by those very corporations. We've lost the representation in our government. The Republic is no longer for the people by the people. The Republic is lost.

[datashovel]

I have the impression that we (humanity) have just gotten our feet under ourselves in terms of how to utilize technology and the internet to really make a difference and make real progress in fighting back against these kinds of things. 20 years is only a tiny blip on the map of the entire history of civilization. Unfortunately that probably means you and I will maybe only see the beginnings of what the world will be like 1000 years from now, but the initial signs (to me) are very encouraging.