Futurism: Virtual Countries May Lie Ahead

Ok, it's time to stretch your worldview a bit. That's a good thing from time to time. Can you imagine a world comprised of "virtual countries?" Why not? We have already seen the emergence of tens of thousands of virtual communiities on the Internet. Maybe there is a day ahead when we have the option of belonging to more than one country.

Can you imagine the implications of the virtual country on economic development as we know it. The next generation of economic developer may be developing virtual economies that span geographically-defined countries across the world.

Too far fetched you say. Maybe not. Read on about what the DaVinci Institute has to say about virtual countries.

The Internet, while still in its infancy, has created borderless economies, that are confusing the issues of power and control, and even the sovereignty of nations. We are now entering into a new era of public power and control. The true power that is beginning to emerge is "technocratic," meaning that we are beginning to reorganize the world around the technical imperatives of global competitiveness and economic efficiencies.

The nation-state has only been around for roughly 350 years. Will it still be around 1,000 years from now? Perhaps not.

The surge in interest in online communities has given rise to unique groupings of people, based on cross-cultural commonalities. The strength of many of these commonalities often transcends present loyalties to country or nationality. In short, the driving force of money will, in many people's minds, force the issues of culture and heritage to take a back seat.

Emerging forces in globalism has given rise to the notion of creating Virtual Countries, countries without land and without borders. Citizens of Virtual Countries will live in existing land-based countries; abide by their laws; and, at the same time, hold two or more virtual citizenships.

Who's thinking about this issue? Well, for one, the Colorado-based DaVinci Institute. Click here to read more.