The first law of geography (i.e Toblers) states that things close to each other (spatially) are more alike than things that aren’t. I propose a Zeroth Law (to mirror Asimov’s laws for robotics) that states:
“the further things are apart the less we care about them”
It’s really the converse of Toblers but in today’s society more apt – cyberspace may shrink the opportunity costs but lets face it, west is west and the east is... well, a foreign country. Even in our own society its clear that we care less for geographically removed or remote denizens than we do for those we are forced to trip over as we leave our front doors – non-propinquity breeds disregard, which I think is a more socially responsible way of looking at geography rather than assuming ‘natural’ variegation caused by distance decay.
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