Journal of a Cosmic Anthropologist

Bruce Sterling: The fluidity of the idea of national identity.

The idea of “developing countries” is a bogus anachronism. Places like Mexico City are better thought of as “areas of global urbanization.” Mexico City is much closer to the reality of Shanghai or Lagos than rural Chiapas or Oaxaca. Mexico City as the “global capital of Latino globalization.”

The ascendant role of the *city*, which establish national economic archetypes and don’t care about borders, in a world where the nation state is slipping away, as the national governments lose control of their economies and borders.

“People talk about emerging economies. What about *submerging* economies – places like Detroit…parts of D.C. where the AIDS rates are higher than Uganda.”

“In the future, the poor will not be able to avoid becoming posthuman, because they just can’t afford it.”