I've ranted about all this here and elsewhere, how falling semiconductor prices, public networks and strong cryptography beget the reemergence of bearer certificates, this time in digital form (of which ecash is only the prima facie example, the existence proof) and what I call, for lack of a better term, a "geodesic", instead of hierarchical, economy.
Bob Hettinga
Agreed. What's more, I'll make a similar claim about the legal system -- with the rise of alternate dispute resolution systems, it too appears to be moving toward a system where law issues less from state authorities and more from private ones. Post's article brings out this point well. As for terminology, I prefer "polycentric." Originally coined (I believe) by Polyani with regard to non-hierarchical societies, it works quite well in economic and legal contexts. A polycentric system harbors overlapping authorities in free and open competition. Tom W. Bell Assistant Professor Law and Technology Program UD Law School bell@odo.law.udayton.edu PGP fingerprint: 78 06 76 AC 32 38 A6 4C B3 81 F4 1E 2E 27 AC 71