Virtual Capitalism
Examines the impact of the Internet & other technological advances on the modern perception of capitalism, & discusses the importance of the emerging virtual/technological class. It is argued that the virtual class has blindly pursued the realization of a fully technological society, & has thereby bypassed personal ethics or any concern regarding the possibility for aesthetic creativity, social solidarity, democratic discourse, or economic justice. Under these circumstances, human concerns are sacrificed to technological advance, & the primacy of information surpasses that of the body & mind. It is suggested that the virtual class is aggressive & predatory, & that the success of a virtual postcapitalist system will erode the integrity of the state & divide the globe into three virtual classes: master function (virtual class), clone, & slave function. The slave-function class is already apparent in Third World nations where economic failure has subjected citizens to manifestations of predatory & unregulated capitalism, eg, child labor & black-market organ trade. It is concluded that the unchecked pursuit of the virtual world could destroy currently realized social advances, & lead to the abuses & inequalities characteristic of the colonial era. T. Sevier