The iron law of oligarchy continues as global organization yields global rule, and a global elite. Among the ranks of this elite are the owners of the technology, supported by subservient classes of a corporate and technical elite. This essay examines these issues, then begins to present options for resistance towards this global power move. Marshall McLuhan in The Global Village illustrates the transformative and oligarchic natures of the emerging media. This term describes a method of social organization that accompanies the proliferation of electronic media such as computers, satellites, global networks, and multi-way video communication.
Humanity extends itself into the electronic environment, lending itself to electronic organization.
We witness the emergence of a global machine, a global computer that is alive with a developing global consciousness, derived from the collective efforts of millions of human participants. GAIA rises from the industrialized world. This essay also takes into consideration the work of C. Wright Mills, and Robert Michels in order to understand the potential role of the new power structure that emerges in the wake of the information revolution. Their works are concerned with the roles of elites in mass organization, they illustrate the present and potential roles of an elite within the burgeoning information age. The information revolution creates a new institution that enhances existing ones, while creating a new and unique global entity.