PART Ⅰ THE NATURE OF LAW AND TECHNOLOGY 3
1 The Nature of Law and Government 3
1.1 Introduction 3
1.2 Government - a Case Study 3
1.3 The Rule of Law 19
1.4 The Relationship between Law and Government 24
1.5 The Nature of Law and Technology 31
1.6 Conclusion 33
2 The Response of Business to Changes in the Legal Environment 51
2.1 Introduction 51
2.2 Business Response to Changes in Legal Systems 53
2.3 Political Collapse and Laissez-Faire Economies 56
2.4 Conclusion 58
3 Technology’s Effect on Legal Systems 63
3.1 Introduction 63
3.2 The Nature and Type of Technologies 64
3.3 The Effect of Technological Change on Law 65
3.4 Conclusion 69
PART Ⅱ THE RELATIONSHIP OF GOVERNMENT AND TECHNOLOGY 79
4 Constitutional Responses to Paradigmatic Shifts in Technology 79
4.1 Introduction 79
4.2 Technological Challenges to Constitutional Paradigms 82
4.3 The State 85
4.3.1 Global Technological Environment 88
4.3.2 Global Geo-Political Environment 90
4.3.3 The Global Environment 91
4.4 Sovereignty 91
4.5 Conclusion 94
5 The Nature of Constitutions and their Relationship with Technology 109
5.1 Introduction 109
5.2 Legitimacy and the State 109
5.3 Possible Changes in the Nature of Government and the Global Environment 115
5.4 The Contextualization of Constitutions and Technology 118
5.5 Conclusion 119
6 Changes in the Past 127
6.1 Introduction 127
6.2 Egypt 128
6.3 Rome 130
6.4 Dark Age and Mediaeval Europe 131
6.5 The Reformation 138
6.6 The Industrial Revolution 139
6.7 The Constitutional Effects of Technology 140
6.8 Conclusion 141
7 Changes in the Present 151
7.1 Introduction 151
7.2 Telecommunications 151
7.3 The Internet 154
7.3.1 The Internet and Commerce 159
7.3.2 The Internet and the State 166
7.4 Conclusion 172
8 Technological Challenges to Law, Property and Ethics 193
8.1 Introduction 193
8.2 The Advent of Modern Genetic Engineering 194
8.3 Conclusion 201
9 Lessons for the Future 209
9.1 Introduction 209
9.2 Global Governance as a Result of Technology 211
9.3 Conclusion 215
Bibliography 221
Index 261