Asymmetric Warfare

In the past, it was known that irregular forces in small numbers and wide dispersion could tie down much larger regular forces. In the present day, this holds true for individuals empowered by the internet; such individuals, widely dispersed across the globe, can hold large institutions or even state-sized entities to ransom.

This is why the hammer-blows of state apparatus in any nation, or even the weaker hammer-blows of smaller institutions, are about as effective as using a hammer to defeat a cloud of gnats. You might get some, but in doing so, he who wields the hammer exposes his arm (or as that lovely archaic phrase has it, "chances his arm"). While he attempts to smash the few gnats who are not smart enough to manoeuvre out of the way, the rest will bite.

By tortuous and perambulatory ways, this leads to my thesis conclusion. It's all about governance. Who runs the show? Is it global trends, nation-building policy, state apparatus, or local authority? Is it the customer who is always right and yet often wrong? Is it the economy or is it stupid? Is it principals or principles?

The answers are all very interesting.