This article offers an insightful look at Internet realities and trends. I recommend libertarians read it to get a better handle on the rapidly changing online landscape so as to be better prepared to think about how we can most effectively use it for bringing about pro-freedom change.
One important question concerns the implications of more online sharing, openness, cooperation, etc., for libertarianism, given our philosophical focus on *individual* liberty. We may expect observations like, "Individualism is so 20th century -- we're all an interconnected electronic village now." I think one answer to such sentiments is to focus on the Non-Aggression Principle, and talk about it in terms of promoting *social harmony*, *cooperation*, etc. Non-aggression is a concept that relates just as well to groups as to individuals. If we teach it as a general principle for society, that will cover individuals as well as groups without the necessity of casting everything we believe in terms of an individualistic model of society that may come across to some as outdated or irrelevant.
Meanwhile, any dangers of a potential devaluation of individualism notwithstanding, I'm optimistic that the greater openness and communication that the Internet makes possible will overshadow any negative effects, by undermining statism and the authoritarian and bureaucratic ways of thinking that give rise to it.
Love & Liberty,
((( starchild )))