ABSTRACT
For thousands of years, humanity’s economy was based on a transient nomad tribal system. The more animals a member could corral within the local village, the wealthier this member was. For thousands of years after that, humanity settled and developed the land in an agrarian economy. In this economy, the member who had the best tools had better luck taming the land, a better crop, more options in bartering, and so on. In the late eighteenth century, our economy began to develop into an industrial economy. More products were produced at a faster rate, requiring more skilled labor and better tools. Family farm-based agriculture began to slip away as more workers moved into the cities to fill the gap. Within the industrial economy, we had access to banks, shops, and stores in every neighborhood; on practically every corner. Ease of access to these services and convenience for the customer required even more products at even faster rates. Especially in America, we couldn’t get our products fast enough. In all of this, the telecommunications infrastructure grew to meet the demands of this economy. Overnight, in the grand scheme, we became a “global village” (see GLOBALIZATION). With the advent of the Internet, consumers are able to bank, shop, purchase, and (in some cases) retrieve goods and services instantaneously around the world. This is our new economy.
