The following video is one of the most fascinating I have seen in a long time. In it, bestselling author, political adviser and social and ethical prophet Jeremy Rifkin investigates the evolution of empathy and the profound ways that it has shaped our development and our society.

There are so many observations, comments and questions that come to mind, it’s hard to know where to begin. I’m choosing to keep on subject (from the perspective of this blog) and will take one path: the effect of social media on civilization, specifically can social media save the world?

Listening to the presentation, one statement made me ask the question:

“Is it really a big stretch to imagine the new technologies allowing us to connect our empathy to the human race writ large in a single biosphere?”

The evolutionary path of human empathy has gone from loyalty based on blood ties, then religious ties and ultimately to empathy based on national identification. As a result, it seems to be a natural progression that with social media removing all barriers, the global society, the human race, all of us, can now communicate like never before.

I’ve described the historical importance of social media (in terms of the evolution of human communication) before and the following video adds to that ideology. What do you take from this amazing video?