Conclusion: Can the World Be Micromanaged?

Reading these fine contributions, and placing them in the context of James Carrier’s provocative concept of virtualism (Carrier and Miller 1998), leads me to offer two generalisations. There is, first, a pattern in which power elites attempt to micromanage the world. Often, maybe always, they fail in their overt mission, but with important effects nonetheless. Second, the organisations required to conduct these immensely complicated operations across the globe have given rise to a worldwide occupational group of project operatives and functionaries, a social grouping that merits attention. While these generalisations are grounded in case material, it is only recently (with