Can virtual worlds (second life) become true communities? Virtual worlds have the potential to become highly functioning institutions, but since they are not set up to deal with the human reality of the body (indeed, they are adept at obscuring this reality) they cannot go beyond the status of institutions. Another kind of institution that limits its own capacity to be a true community is the university, which is not set up to deal with, and in many ways obscures, the human reality of the family and reproduction.
How can a virtual world create a sense of place by way of the presence of people? Virtual worlds create a sense of place for individuals to the degree that those individuals are able to feel a sense of place without the normal sensations of touch, taste, smell, and hearing that usually facilitate a feeling of "being somewhere." Virtual worlds that can adequately simulate visual associations with place may have a better chance of triggering a sense of place in their users.
Do virtual worlds have the possibility of creating disinhibitions or the redefinition of social inhibitions? Clearly, virtual worlds as we currently know them redefine social norms, and with them, social inhibitions. To some extent this is due to the difference in importance that people ascribe to acts that have repercussions in worlds that use multiple modes (e.g. touch, taste, hearing) versus those that have repercussions in only a few modes (e.g. virtual worlds' reliance on vision). Any new method of interaction requires an adjustment of social norms, just as the rise of abstract currency required an adjustment of social norms related to trade, barter, and valuation of goods.
What is a political economy? In anthropological circles, political economy refers to the state of "development" or "economic progress" that a culture/nation/group has achieved. Using the construct of political economy, cultures can be "politically advanced" or "underdeveloped" by comparison to the global industrial standard.
Describe/define...
Some political economic trends that have been shaped by the internet include: the explosion of personal cultural production in blogs (positive: gives people a sense of ownership and voice; negative: possibly a distraction from effective means of dissent and change), greater attention to the meaning and use of censorship (positive: raises awareness of government actions; negative: disturbs notions of trust in institutions), and the impact of the online economy on illicit trade (positive: provides small producers with economic goods; negative: notions of trust are in flux, possibility for harm and deception).
What is neoliberalism? Neoliberalism is a political economic philosophy advocated by Milton Friedman, Karl Hayek, and others. Its principles dictate that minimal state involvement in the economy (so-called "laissez faire") will produce the most economic growth, which is assumed to be the greatest good.
What is creationist capitalism? Creationist capitalism assumes that humans have made a forward leap with regard to individual mastery of techne. Individuals and communities can create significantly different "worlds" to inhabit, which will have their own independent and inter-dependent political economies. The "creationist" component lies in the idea that these economies will not arise organically, but can be constructed out of whole virtual cloth by those with enough technical and cultural skill.
What is California ideology? The California Ideology is a libertarian information-theoretic approach to politics. Within its framework, anything that is possible within the capabilities of technology should be allowed by law, and even if it is not, the assumption of California ideologues is that it will be developed if it is useful or profitable to someone. This ideology is at the root of most Cyberpunk literature and the open-source software movement. Its most famous central tenet is "information wants to be free."
