Not going to speak for @johnrobb but my read is that *networks* circa 2018 differ from mere "connected hierarchies" of the past. As the military is learning in contemplating drone warfare, the only way to fight a network (swarm) is with another network.
Unfortunately for those of us who admire/appreciate the utility of existing, classical value systems in maintain societal infrastructure, those value systems are defended by stodgy institutions or stable attractors that developed from a low-bandwidth memetic environment.
They are not suited to disruption by dynamic organizational patterns that are now possible in a highly connected environment. Birds don't resemble fish, even though both operate under similar laws of fluid dynamics. The West's enlightenment ideals will drown if they don't adapt.
When I think about possible outcomes, authoritarianism seems most likely - probably as a response to outbreaks of network disruption. And networks will merely move harder into memetic space, taking advantage of existing internet's lack of trust, to hijack human connections.
That's why I think it is so critical that we create decentralized comms/information tech that is designed to emerge high-trust human connections, and not viral swarm dynamics that either get hijacked by mob mentality, or governed by centralized authority.
