Though the society foreseen is still emerging, with the dramatic transitions of the past two decades (e.g. Cell Phones, Internet, the rise of non-national and super-national powers, etc.), several distinguishing features were posed as characteristic of this new society. Among others, these included:
The rolling back of the Industrial-Era creed of “standardization”, as exemplified in the one-size-fits-all approach typical of institutions of this era, such as the education system, factories, governments, mass media, high volume mass production and distribution, etc.
The attack on the nation-state from above and below and progressive obsolescence of the nation-state, itself.
The eclipsing of monetary wealth by knowledge and information as the primary determinant of power and its distribution.
A transformation of the very character of democracy, itself, from rule-by-periodic polling at the election booth, toward a more direct interaction between the government and its populace. To a large extent, this has already emerged with the rise of the Internet, though it has not yet congealed in the form of a fundamental revision of the constitution of any state. The trend toward on-line voting in the United States, following the election crisis of 2000, may be seen as a first step in this direction.