In the past, boundaries have been a function of geography.
Bodies of water (rivers in particular) seem to be the most common
dividers of territories, This made sense in a time when these
obstacles were difficult to traverse. 
Cultures and cities formed around these dividers. Natural
boundaries in combination with the xenophobic nature of humans (and
animals in general) have played a prominent role in the territorial
development of the planet. We fear what we do not know.
Over the years, improvements in transportation, navigation and
information communication technologies have served to temper this
innate distrust. As our natural inclination to explore, map and
quantify the planet brought the peoples of the world into contact
with one another, we were incented to collaborate across cultures
by the desire to exchange natural resources as well as the
inevitable knowledge transfers that were a byproduct of
interaction. Today, though natural resource exchange is at an
all-time high, it is the transfer and creation of knowledge that is
exploding across cultures, bringing people from far-reaches of the
planet together and chipping away at the meaning of nationality.
(cont.)
The notions of us versus them are shifting. The recent
formations and continued expansion of the European Union,
NATO and various trade agreements like
NAFTA are emblematic of this growing
trend. Outsourcing, while contributing greatly to an increasingly
efficient global economy, also serves to bring down borders. In
today’s high tech world, people often have more in common with
those who share their ideas, interests and skill sets than
geographical location and oft times even culture. It is already
having the effect of creating sub-cultures that work and play
together from remote places, frequently without ever meeting face
to face (do webcams count?). Sure, cultural, ethnic and religious
ties still dominate, but there is a trend towards de-borderization
that seems inexorable.
Another factor to consider in all of this is perspective. Some
of Dick
Pelletier’s pieces focus on space exploration and colonization.
This post on NASA’s goal of
moon colonization just over a decade from now also augurs at
this trend in de-borderiization. Man has always been territorial.
The shorter your field of vision the easier it is to say ‘mine.’
The view of earth from space is as a single system. And space is
viewed in much the same way from earth. Perhaps NASA’s goal of developing the lunar landscape
combined with this powerful ongoing trend of de-borderization will
push us that much closer to the kind of global village that many of
us hope to live in some day. We certainly seem to be moving in that
direction.
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