CascadiaPrime Refocus
CascadiaPrime is refocusing on technological, economic and social aspects of Singularity related issues.
On Google + My Channel " TheCascadiaPrime " will feature playlists of videos that focus on Artificial General Intelligence and robotics and a range of Singularity topics.
On Tweeter at PJ_Muncaster you will find daily links to related developments.
Issues related to continental integration and political reformulation of the state, province, and local governments will remain a feature of CascadiaPrme but will become background rather than foreground. The reason is one of timeframe.
The major impacts of the Singularity will begin before any conceivable schedule for a deepened NA integration. It has always been a longer term probability. Singularity impacts may create circumstances that will accelerate NA integrative forces but the wider issues of global integration and redefinition of the human condition inherent in singularity developments are likely to feature more prominently.
I expect that Singularity issues will become more prominent in public discussion in the years ahead. There are already disturbing signs emerging that suggest the potential for widespread social discontinuity occasioned by singularity employment impacts and religious and ideological fracturing as the technological and economic fabric is shaken. In time a new cultural and economic paradigm will emerge but suffice it to say that most world views will be altered beyond recognition for what is about to occur has no historical precedent. Therein lies perhaps the most prominent risk associated with the Singularity - the loss of social cohesion on a scale not witnessed before. When worldviews crumble they occasion enormous psychological shock and potential for anger - particularly in individuals and communities without an adaptive mindset.
The news will not all be bad. In fact there is potential for a new golden age to emerge. The world is what we make it.
An unchangeable federal constitution, provinces smaller than cities and bigger than countries, and unrationalizable local governments - this is the current situation in Canada.
As the globe shrinks the value of the emergence of polities loosely based on the "Nine Nations of America" will become
clearer and the common values within Cascadia and a United North America will become more apparent.
Cascadia would be formed from present day Alaska, the Yukon, British Columbia, Alberta, Washington State, Idaho, Montana,
and Oregon. It might also include Northern California.
When? In twenty to fifty years.
Why? The information revolution and geopolitical / scale changes
How? Democratically.
Surprising to some there is already a good deal of cooperation going on
between these states and provinces for the simple reason that they share the common problems and have opportunities they can pursue jointly. In addition, these states
and provinces find that by tackling issues together they can better catch the ear of Federal political structures in the East that have "hearing problems".
However, the Singularity puts all bets "on hold"..
Countries like China and India are rapidly modernizing. They have billion plus internal markets
and burgeoning intellectual resources. It is a time when Europeans have awoken to
the fact that their nation states are too small to be successful economically and geo-politically in a world
of a billion plus countries. It is a time when Europe
is pulling down national barriers to the free flow of people, goods and commerce
and creating common processes of governance. It comes at a time when some British Columbians and
Albertans wonder whether Canada can ever be fixed and have concluded that it cannot. It is too small
and its constitution is ossified. Changes in demographics and in the economy are happening faster than political structural change.
Political energies in B.C. and Alberta therefore are better spent regionally and concerting with
regional partners to achieve Pacific North West goals within the two existing nation states - that will become one. It may also take the preliminary
form of the unification of two or more provinces or states. Once the ball started rolling the
political momentum would continue.
What we have is two Federal governments on the continent that do not effectively plan and budget "for
the continent" or for its regions. There is no vision for the continent and hence no effective strategic planning.
What kind of North America do we want in even 2025? Little or no thought is being put into this in our legislatures
or by respective "elites". We need to ask the question: What institutions do we need to have in place
to make North America work better in the mid 21st Century? We need a Longe Range Direction Plan.
A Vision for the 21st century in North America.
The history of the unification of countries in Europe with common languages suggests that
continental governance can be created in relatively short periods when viewed
from a historical perspective. The European Community has developed in a period of just over 50 years.
It is going through a rough patch but the forces that gave rise to it will not go away.
Economic and political necessity will drive reform and reconstitution - crisis will give way to a
better and stronger formulation.
If you accept however that global change is occurring not at linear rates but at exponential
rates then many developments could occur in a much shorter timeframe. The world is entering a
period of discontinuous change. Over the next 50 years, artificial intelligence and robotics, the internet, climate
change, energy re-sourcing and a revolutions in medical affairs and education are going
radically reshape the world.
The debt collapse of some states and some provinces may well contribute to a "crisis" leading
to constitutional reordering.
The disintegration of the Soviet Union, the rise of China and India
suggests that even the most hardened and rightous nationalist must take care when
considering the technological, the economic and cultural forces at play over the next several decades.
Will Africa and Latin America unite? Yes.
Only the timeframes will be longer. Fluid, real-time, inexpensive spoken computer language translation
is going to accelerate mind-state shifts in the decades ahead. Capabilities like Siri and Watson are going to make learning available to everyone on the planet - and the internet will link everyone..
A quick look at the integrative
forces at play in the world suggests that the world of the future is going to bear little
resemblance to what it was in the past.
So when the future is under discussion an "open mind" is the best policy. Global integration is
accelerating. We are increasingly living in "One World". What can be said with certainty is
that the future will be surprising.
"Leadership, it's been said, has two essential ingredients: first, it's about going somewhere;
second, it's about being able to persuade other people to share in the journey."
CascadiaPrime has a number of themes:
Regional and Continental Cooperation - there are too many governments and too much government - they need to be rethought. Most North American governments were created when the railways were new and primary transport was a horse. They make no sense.
Good Macroeconomic Management - including sound fiscal policies, policies that help to reduce public sector debt levels relative to the size of the economy. This will help cushion against shocks on the horizon and ensure that the generation to follow is not saddled with debt and taxation created by those that have gone before. Monetary policy focussed on keeping core inflation low and encouraging saving and hard work.
Forward Thinking - understanding what the macro trends are and charting public, private and personal strategies to build toward a better and more sustainable future.
Creative Destruction - Helping old ideas that have out-lived their usefulness to pass from the scene. Badly run businesses go out of business. Constitutionally and legislatively defined regions can go on long after they become uneconomic and ineffective.
Spiritual Growth - acknowledging the limits to materialism. Man does not live by bread alone. Cascadia has a natural beauty that lends itself to spiritual growth.
Sustainability - Cascadia is one of the most beautiful places on the planet. Its natural systems need to be protected and sustained as does the planet as a whole.
Strategic Power - energy self-sufficiency, material and food self-sufficiency, soft power and hard power, health system resilience, global reach, technological leadership, transportation efficiencies and effectiveness, political and bureaucratic cohesion.
Building an Adaptive Society - using the new information and management tools available to assist individuals, communities and governments to become more adaptive.
Long Range Planning - in times of revolutionary change, incrementalism and failure to link budgets to a vision is a recipe for failure.
This website was created initially for my own use. I hope you enjoy it and find it useful. Share it with your friends. My background "informs" the content and focus of CascadiaPrime.
Live long and prosper.
Patrick Muncaster