The New Loyalty

Loyalty as it stands

As a species, our loyalties had shifted from the tribe to the local village, from organized religion to the great nation state. As national boundaries blur, economies mix, and identities splinter, our loyalties are changing as well. Though still very dominant, nationalism is weakening. With the extreme growth of multinational entities like the UN, EU, and some corporations, we’re seeing a shift in loyalty not restrained by physical boarders but ones of ideology. As the idea of membership becomes more fluid and access trumps ownership, where will our loyalties lie in the future?

What will this shift mean?

How have the recent Arab Spring and the Occupy movements help usher in this new sense of loyalty and community? Where will power and authority be maintained within this splintering and simultaneously blurring world? As we create new spaces for people and ideas to inhabit, we must be conscience of how it affects loyalty.