The Web is a democracy
of opportunity, but not necessarily of
outcome. At the beginning it was like a beautiful, fertile
ground where all sorts of
organizations could theoretically survive. But the selection
process has been incredibly fast.
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The
libertarian philosophy of minimal government and maximal individual
freedom appeals, as well, to the globe-trotting computer professionals
who consider themselves less citizens than
"netizens," wired by cellphone, fax, and modem into the world space of ceaselessly circulating
information and liquid capital but increasingly disengaged from public space, civic life, and social responsibility.
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What I worry
about when it comes to the Web
is that people are encouraged to drill down into their areas of concern
to such a degree that they get closeted in their own reflections of themselves. That can militate against an open society.
And surfing was a way out of that.
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What you've
got is a huge diminution of the number of voices providing information that is necessary for an informed
citizenship, and the Internet doesn't change that. It certainly
reduces the barriers to organizing and to discourse. That's important
for democracy. But it
is no replacement for journalism and news gathering.
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People who live their lives with the speed, accuracy and
convenience of automatic teller machines (ATM's) giving them cash
at any time in any city, cell phones that work easily virtually
everywhere, the ease of shopping on the web and staying in touch
through email find the bureaucratic, interest group and arcane nature
of political dialogue
and government policy to be painfully outmoded.
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