Re: The Five Stages of Collapse

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Esther Dyson <edyson () edventure com>
Date: December 29, 2008 9:58:08 AM EST
To: "Tom Fairlie" <tfairlie () frontiernet net>, "David Farber" <dave () farber net 
>
Cc: <avg () kotovnik com>, "Randall" <rvh40 () insightbb com>, <dewayne () warpspeed com 
>
Subject: Re: [IP] Re:    The Five Stages of Collapse

Yes.  More than that (and I am sitting in Star City outside Moscow as  
I write), nothing in the world is simple, and that statement is more  
intensely true of Russia.  It's correct to make the distinction  
between the end of the Soviet Union and the persistence of many  
Russian habits...

Yet, things are changing still.  It's possible to find out information  
that you could never have found out before, courtesy of the internet  
and other non-mass media.  Markets are working (though still not as  
transparently as in the West) and feedback loops are doing their  
thing.  People's expectations (especially young people's) are  
changing.  It's a very slow process and it's not the same throughout  
the country.

The place I live was an oasis of luxury in the old days. It hasn't  
changed much, but it's no longer an oasis.  Instead, I go into Moscow  
to get the food and buy the things I cannot get in Star City.

Esther



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