One Net One World Global Citizenship and the Internet

Jenny Shearer (HyperMedia Unit and Department of Political Studies University of Auckland, New Zealand)

Abstract: The development of a global ethical system is desirable to fulfil the societal promise of the technology of the Internet. The author attempts to construct such a "pragmatic" ethical system (in an age of relativism and ethical scepticism) using concepts drawn from a number of moral philosophers. The global ethics construct uses the quality of human rationality as a basis, co-existing with the essence of "identity" in religious, cultural, and personal terms for individuals. The potential of the constructed Internet "global citizen" is unquantifiable, but the concept represents an opportunity for global co-operation and mingling of ideas, personalities, cultures, and solutions to problems. It is an unconstrained scenario utilising key qualities of the technology including rapid information turnaround and unprecented individual access by vast numbers of the global population.

Categories: K.4.2, K.5.2