As fascinating as I find the Web, I agree that it is no substitute for full personality. A lot of the ridiculous misunderstandings I have seen, or been involved in, would probably not haven occurred with all of the subtle cues of voice and expression. Even video conferencing is inferior to direct encounter....
As I think we discussed before, there are two interesting trends: one, towards supra- national institutions, the other, a devolution to local autonomy. Intermediately, there is a growth of regional organizations that cross national boundaries. It seems to me that in such a circumstance, the regional entities maintain an "alliance interest" in dealing with the supra- national bureaucracies, that will, paradoxically, ensure the survival of the nation- state. But the very fact that politics will once more seem primarily a coalition of local interests will place a high premium on personal relationships over technocratic policy making....... |
