I came across some intellectually fascinating YouTube videos of Aldous Huxley. Although there's an encompassing background fear of Communism, seeing past that, there exists a rich perspective at our present. In the Mike Wallace interview, "the enemies of freedom" are discussed along with their potential repercussions. The enemies of freedom are described by Aldous as "impersonal forces" and "technology devices". The "impersonal forces" are overpopulation and over-organization. One of the "technology devices" that accelerate the impersonal forces is propoganda via (papers, TV, radio).
An intriguing suggestion and compelling piece in particular can be observed in the third video. Aldous Huxley discusses decentralization, a powerful form of localized representation (a political realization of social design). Not only do Individuals feel that their opinions are important but are necessary for democracy. Further on he discusses the necessity of freedom in an ideal creative society. We are witnessing micro-communities (although the size can become quite large) in the sudden rise in popularity of social media
and networking. Everyone can now connect with their own chosen groups online.
With a seconds of searching online one can find a huge range of web communities:
- discussing various topics of interest
- blogs
- microblogs
- forums
- developing media (YouTube)
- writing content
- wikipedia
- Squidoo
Leveraging the creativity of massive communities of enthusiastic individuals in productive ways will likely be one of the greatest innovations of our time.
The Mike Wallace's Inteview: