If the World were a Computer...

I've been on a politics-influenced, economically philosophical rant for the latter half of today. I find it very amusing and intriguing, as do at least a few of my friends, if only in a negative sense. It all started with: If the world were a computer operating system, what software would it run? Here's my list, and reasons behind the current and past versions. Keep in mind that: 1, this is not endorsed by any other members of the blog, aside from myself; and 2, not all of the world runs the same software (this post assumes a single, unified world, which it is not).

Currently, we as the majority of the world run the following software:

World 1.0

Life 3.2

Government 2.3

Economics 3.0

Religion 1.0, although some individuals run 2.0, 3.0, or 4.0.

Conflict 4.0

Technology 5.5

Here's my reasoning:

World 1.0 is Earth. The Computer that runs Life 3.x, the software our world uses to house everything. We have yet to migrate to a new Earth, so World 1.0 suffices.

Life 1.0 was single-celled organisms, with 1.1 being single-celled photosynthetic organisms (plants), and 1.2 being single-celled animals. As life got more complex, World 1.0 upgraded to Life 2.0: complex plants. Life 2.1 (animals) is a fork of 1.0. Life 2.2 is the content patch that brought about the feature called "Sentience:" Life 3.0, Homo Sapiens, code-named "Human." We are Life 3.2, after 3.1, code-named Neanderthal. So, Life 3.2 "Humans," are, themselves dependent upon various software versions they have developed. The majority of this post is going to cover Life 3.2's software dependencies.

Government 0.x was Theocracies, from a time when a belief in a God mattered in government and public policy. Government 1.x forked into Government 2.0 and Religion 1.0 (More on Religion 1.0 later). Government 1.x was single-leader government, such as Kingdoms and Empires; Government 2.0 is representation. Government 2.1 is democracy such as ancient Greece, 2.2 is republics such as ancient Rome (although Rome eventually downgraded to a late version of Government 1.0), 2.3 is Democratic Republics such as the US and EU, which is the current version.

Economics 0.x was simple trading and bartering, mixed in with hunting and gathering. Economics 1.0 was the transition to a more Capitalist environment. Marxism brought about Economics 2.0: Communism. Some people, such as the US, bypassed Economics 2.0 and went straight to 3.0: Regulation. This was Roosevelt's New Deal, which is currently being whittled away by Republicans to bring us back to Economics 1.x.

Religion is a hot-button issue, but I'm still going to go ahead with this paragraph. Religion 1.0 came directly from Government 1.x, after the fork from Government 2.0. Religion 1.0 is a belief in a god. Religion 2.0 is Polytheism, and 3.0 is Monotheism. Religion 4.0 is Atheism. Some people may disagree with this, but that's my personal opinion. Keep in mind that these numbers are only the order of when they first appeared.

Conflict 0.x was "Peace." Conflict 1.0, however, was the start of a long chain spanning between interpersonal conflict (2.0) to inter-regional and -cultural conflict (3.0), and we are now at Conflict 4.0, War between organized nations. With various rules and regulations, we have now upgraded, followed by a downgrade back to Conflict 4.0.

Technology 0.x never existed, but Life 3.0 manifested Technology 1.0, "Stone Tools." Technology 2.0 is the Bronze age, with 3.0 being the Iron age. Technology 4.0 is steam power, with 4.5 being other fossil fuels, such as gasoline and oil. Technology 5.0 is, however, electronic power and electronics. Energy 2.0, "Renewable energy," is a fork from Technology 4.x. Back to Technology, however, Technology 5.5 is Computers and the Information Age.

So, if the world were a computer, and we were the operating system, we'd be one messed-up computer. Also, for those who believe in God, you could argue that, if this theory were true, he could have deleted the program and started over a long time ago, which I'm convinced he may have; or at least ported Life 0.x from another computer architecture.