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During
the preparation of TRILO-G, we
found that three spheres of concern demanded
more extensive treatment than was possible in
the 18 short Chapters that make up the BRIDGES
component of the project. These
topics will be the subject of three major new
Backgrounders on:
As
these Backgrounders are completed, we will post
them in the Bacon's Rebellion website
along with our eight other Backgrounders. The
first, now ready for publication, examines
MainStream Media.
The
Backgrounder on MainStream Media is titled:
"The Estate Matrix: 700 Years of Profound
Transformations nad Estate Conversions."
This Backgrounder documents that on the road to
contemporary civilization, morphing Estates have
fundamentally changed the management of society.
We contend that one recent Conversion has
resulted in MainStream Media abandoning the role
for which it was awarded dominion over “The
Fourth Estate.”
Due
to the length of this Backgrounder, Jim Bacon
has chosen to run each of the four parts of
"The Estate Matrix" as separate
columns. Publishing these PARTs separately means
EMR can focus on completing TRILO-G but it also
means some questions raised in PART I will not
be answered until future parts are published in
coming weeks.
As
indicated by the sidebar on the first page of
the column "The Morphed Estate," The
Estates Matrix is presented in four parts:
I.
The Morphed Estate
II.
The Estates Matrix
III.
The Rise and Fall of Journalism
IV.
The Road Ahead
Concern
for the health of MainStream Media is widespread
and so is condemnation for what is seen as the
abandonment of MainStream Media’s Fourth
Estate responsibility. For more than two
decades, SYNERGY/Planning has documented that
human settlement pattern dysfunctions are caused
by, and/or exacerbated by, MainStream Media’s
ignorance, misrepresentation and distortion of
land use, transport and conservation issues.
It
turns out that MainStream Media was faced with a
dilemma and had no option but to abandon the
Fourth Estate.
For
those negatively impacted by MainStream Media
dysfunction, a central problem has been to place
the past and future of MainStream Media in a
Conceptual Framework that facilitates
examination. The denizens of Journalism are so
wedded to being masters of a separate Estate
that they have found it hard to consider
alternatives.
One
possible way to place the dilemma of MainStream
Media in context is to examine the concept of
“Estates.” The Estates Matrix is a one-page
spreadsheet that considers the morphing of
Estates since 1302 when King Philip IV of France
called the first Estates General.
The
strategy of considering the origin and
Conversions of Estates turns out to be very
useful for coming to an understanding of how and
why the Fourth Estate came into being, why it
has been abandoned by MainStream Media and what
the future of the Fourth Estates may be.
The
surprising thing is how The Estates Matrix
places in context the four profound
Transformations of First World civilization
since the start of the 14th Century. It also
facilitates an understanding of Five Estate
Conversions, which impact the way society is
managed. They also provide the parameters for
shaping the trajectory of civilization.
Achieving
a sustainable trajectory for contemporary
society will require Fundamental Change. But
what is the alternative?
Have
a Happy Holiday Season.
--
November 26, 2007
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