Introduction

As the industrial age gives way to the information age, traditional, accepted economic models of production and wealth must be radically reconsidered. Systemic definitions of capitalism and socialism may no longer apply, when material products lose preeminence to digital, informational products and services, in terms of societal value and economic wealth. We are entering an era in which such products can develop gradually through the labor of many individuals. The marginal costs of production and distribution are rapidly falling towards zero, and the technologies are in place to enable widespread duplication and resale of potentially valuable informational content, including what has been termed intellectual property. Thus, widely used paradigms of creation of wealth, human and mechanical labor, and the role of governments and the nation-state are in the process of considerable redefinition.

Original page design: Barbara Stone