COMMUNICATIONS AGE DISSOLVES NATIONS 

If the suddeness of events in Eastern Europe during recent months seems shocking, stay tuned. Changes will become far more pervasive. New changes will occur in the Soviet Union, China, India, the United States and even in Canada.

Mere decades ago, empires reigned .... in Russia, England, Spain, Portugal and elsewhere. None remain. Centralized governments are struggling to survive. They are fighting an overwhelming tide they can not see.

The basic form of centralized governments, backed by massive bureaucracies, couldn't exist before Gutenberg gave Europe the printing press. This invention allowed governments, especially in the relatively recent past, to organize, delegate and control large numbers and vast land masses. Now that such universal technology as satellite transmitters ignore national boundaries, will such impertinence affect citizens' demand on how their section of the country is governed?

New thinking and new perceptions, spreading rapidly throughout today's global communications network, bring support and financial aid and trigger similar thinking in other countries where regional, ethnic and developmental aspirations have not been fulfilled by the established order. In a free-wheeling communications environment, no longer under control, centralized governments will continue to lose power to smaller, more adaptable and more responsive forms of administration.

When Marshall McLuhlan said television would revert us to a visual/oral society not many understood what he meant ... or the implications. Some have already come to pass. The time of decentralization is here. Governments, set up to perform certain functions in the past, are no longer capable of carrying out those functions.

Can any government today protect citizens at home or abroad against terrorism? Protect the value of currency against outside influences? Protect the jobs of citizens? Can any country seal borders against unwanted or illegal immigrants? Or successfully throw up protective shields against environmental and cultural influences sweeping across its borders?

Remember, not that long ago, when if a Brit got bruised in Cairo, the Royal Navy would sail into the Mediterranean and quickly settle the matter. Not anymore. Today, superior, longer-lasting, quality products can be imported and sold at lower prices than domestic goods, and job loss at home is increasing now that labor can be imported electronically.

In Canada a definite trend is emerging. British Columbians have started to think of themselves as either "Western Canadians" and "British Columbians" first and as Canadians second. Most French Canadians are Quebecois first and then, if at all, Canadians. Ethnic and philosophical "communities" are growing stronger. These are not new nations but apolitical powers without borders that cross former barriers.

Centralized federal governments are becoming impotent. They no longer control the information base. They have mismanaged finances to such a degree that they no longer have money to stay in power, regain power or manipulate power. They are overburdened, increasingly scrutinized and have lost the ability to react quickly in day-to-day operations. While sailing the ship of state governments once felt secure by the mere size of their Titanic.

Federal government operations are more like a chimera than reality ... a farce gene injected into a nightmare. Big governments are doomed ... no matter what party is in power.

To stop this trend would mean disconnecting the TV set. No power is that strong.

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