Interesting articles in this month's Atlantic Monthly that talk about how the economic collapse represents a time for creation and reallocation in a knowledge economy. More to the point, the interview reveals some provocative thoughts about the distributive nature of the web and eternal attraction of living in dense places. Another term, Creative destruction, as it is called by some of the economists from the University of Chicago, is another way of looking at this evolutionary relationship between the social and economic forces of a community and the institutions they create to foster their individual and mutual purposes. I guess, in a very real sense, the combination of the Obama's election and our deepening economic failure suggests we are in for some serious dislocation. The articles also have some visuals that relate how the recent economic activity over the last few years is "reshaping America." Evidence of this already appearing on various listservs as librarians from state governments on the verge of bankruptcy (in an economic sense because they can't balance their budgets; or in a political sense because the constitutional officers can't agree on how balance the budget) and the various state libraries are on the target list for serious staff reductions and/or closures. As our earlier discussion about "raw power" indicated -- information distribution relies just on the reach of distribution grid, but more significantly on the value added by a series of institutional players and knowledgeable individuals. See you on Day 28. Continue reading →

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