why a global matrix exists now

[Chris Burford <cburford@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Without cutting across Doyle very correct points, below, about the
fantasy of the Matrix,
and without necessarily asking people to see it my way, I am still
suggesting that there is a matrix (small M) of human communication,
which is getting stronger with globalisation and with advances in
finance capitalism. Iironically the efforts of Empire to impose its
well on 6 billion people stir it up all the more (see the Wolfowitz
nomination)

Perhaps it is just another way of saying that that there is such a
thing as civil society. Although often very problematical, it is an
arena for struggle.

Chris Burford
London

----- Original Message -----
From: "Doyle Saylor" <djsaylor@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <PEN-L@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, March 17, 2005 3:39 PM
Subject: Re: [PEN-L] why a Matrix couldn't be realized in real life


> Greetings Economists,
> The matrix is a fantasy about creating versimultudenous world to
> keep humans
> busy thinking so they provide electricity.  It is waste of time,
> resources,
> and energy to make a plausible world wide amusement park for humans
> to lie
> around (in the movie) to participate in.  That's simple enough.
> Humans have
> been inventing and using artificial intelligence tools for a long
> time.
> Written language, books, etc. are just versions of computing tools.
> While
> writing novels is powerful, we still have to do something in our
> lives to
> get things moving.  That's the point of what's wrong with the matrix
> conception.
>
> The proposition is that machines can interact with humans in some
> kind of
> symbiosis where the machines are farming humans for energy sort of
> like we
> farm pigs for meat has a great deal to do with how little we
> understand a
> global system and how it might work.
>
> One might especially if one is Marxist ask these sorts of questions
> of
> society.  Where is the egalitarianism of socialism in that?  Can
> even
> capitalism go down this road?  A machine with intelligence would
> have to get
> resources to continue just like other living constructs.  That is a
> systemic
> question for them as well as us.  What's the relationship of groups,
> individuals, history, material resources?
> thanks,
> Doyle