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 Introduction Discussion of the identity of the modern human being tends to be relatively simplistic, requiring little comment. However the extreme dependency resulting from industrialization and development has effectively modified that identity in ways of which there is only a limited degree of recognition. This is an exploration of how the human being has already been effectively transformed into a cyborg through immediate dependence on technology in daily life -- with the technology becoming an extension of that identity. As argued here, using "cyborg"as a cognitive template, similar transformations of identity are associated with human dependence on legislation, finance and medicine -- through which identity is effectively defined. Whilst cyborgs are a theme of imaginative science fiction, possibly characteristic of extraterrestrials (as with reference to the "Borg Collective" of Star Trek fame), the perspective to be explored in what follows is that those imag

  Introduction Are there insights to be gained from the current challenges of governance? Most evident are the refugee crisis, financial instability (and rumours of worse to come), climate change, regional conflict, and resource constraints. In this context it is strange to see the progressive marginalization of the United Nations, other than for token purposes and as a device for inhibiting global decision-making. In its place there is the apparent recognition of an intangible entity, namely the so-called  international community . This seemingly disembodied entity has no legal existence and seemingly lacks any clear structure or processes consistent with previous understandings of international organization. Appeals are now frequently made to the international community in declarations publicized by the media. Its failure to act in response to them may well be deplored by those in need, as evident in a key report of Amnesty International ( The Global Refugee Crisis: a conspiracy of n