Civilization in the 21st Century

The world today encounters four extreme challenges:

• The transformation from Western Civilization to Global Civilization

• The development of Virtual Civilization

• A new great crisis, especially seen in the

  Western and the Eastern Civilizations

• The possible Clash of Civilizations

The Internet (a product of the now-ended Cold War) became the central potent global information system and this intensified globalization. Today, if the Internet were to stop operations, likely the global economy would stop as well, since that computer net is so embedded in today’s world economy.

It has developed its own forms of religion, society, culture, and infrastructure.

Over-communication Crisis

Super-capacity Crisis

Global Business Crisis

At the beginning of the 21st century, the primary emphasis in technology involves the development of computers and the digitization of searching for and making available information such as e-zines and e-books and in the digitization of production of written material. About one half of paper magazines in the United States (once at about 13,000) has been replaced by e-zines, to the dissatisfaction of readership.

In addition, technology has given absolute priority to replacing human labor with mechanical systems. It is overlooked that the asserted high cost of human work is a significant achievement of civilization, as labor is what enriches men and takes them out of poverty.

After the fall of the Soviet Empire in 1991 the world order switched from the Cold War (between the political West and East) to the clash of civilizations and to the war carried on at the level of radicalism/terrorism and cyber conflict. This has involved aspects of the Western Civilization and of the Islamic Civilization. Huntington (1996: 211) has argued that

• without the common threat of communism, civilizations now tend to perceive each other as enemies, and

• increased communication and interaction between civilizations has actually exaggerated perceived differences.

Business Liturgy involves endless business meetings and conferences and is covered by the media, all of which feature information convenient for the Business Doctrine.

Unemployed workers donot have the right skills, so it is their obligation to seek the appropriate job training to find employment elsewhere.

The global elite stands in opposition to pluralism and often implies that democracy is a utopian ideal. It also stands in opposition to state autonomy. Therefore, it expects that the state should serve the single global society, the elite, because it alone can work successfully and provide jobs for the poor.

The Global Mind is guided by the principle “think globally, act locally.”

It is Westernized behavior and based on the Western dress code, on CNN,the Wall Street Journal, MacDonald’s-style fast foods, and so forth.

The term “virtual culture” means the electronization of the emerging information culture in computer network storage sites (in what is today called “the cloud” - rented cyberspace) which has been rapidly developing in the 21st century.

The most important global infrastructure is the Internet of People since it coordinates all other globalinfrastructures.

1. The invention of the Internet triggering the Wave of Globalization and a s a result the birth of Global Civilization

2. Rapid growth in the global economy via the Internet
3. Clash of civilizations which resulted in a long war against terrorists
4. Development of online communities
5. The risk that society faces with the development of the Internet
6. The rise of Virtual Common Mind