Most of us are living in modernity 1.0.
Modernity 2.0 is only a small part of our lives. Modernity 2.0 is about a more refined commercial society. Modernity values are seen at the top line of this blog. They are meritocracy, diversity and openness.
Modernity 1.0 is the bulk of our life outside of work. If you work in the private sector, much of your time is spent in the world of modernity 2.0 because meritocracy is the dominant motif of the private commercial sector. You work with diverse people, you judge people on their productivity not their family status and your work is open to examination by most everyone.
In our outside life, we still have some semblance of traditional families and friendships that are part of modernity 1.0. We still have friendships based on common mutual experiences and longevity. Most friendships in 2.0 are instrumental meaning they are based on what we can do for each other. We work with people who are productive not just sweet or loveable.
2.0 can be exemplified in some minor changes that we were making to our lives. For example we are using computer dating to replace our friendship networks for meeting new people which was 1.0. Dating and romance, in turn, replaced family arranged marriages which are tribal.
There is an interesting recent switch from listening to telephone messages to relying exclusively on text messages. This is a movement from the intimacies of friendship and conversation to much more instrumental texting relationships where intimacy is discarded.
Don’t expect to the like coming social changes. Imagine an adult man going straight from 1934 to 1974. No more smoking cigars at home with male friends and brandy. No more having a clean white shirt ironed and starched by your wife. Big, unpleasant changes.
The Internet and hacking are bringing new openness to government which I am happy about. The U.S. government is colossally incompetent and these days especially malicious. We need to have it exposed.