The Soapbox
Posted 15 May 2000

Digital Democracy?

Much ink has been spilt arguing for the benefits of 'digital democracy.'  Advocates of this idea claim that the Internet will allow citizens to become more involved in politics than ever before.  They will have unprecedented access to information and will have a new resource for the exchange of political ideas.  In essence, 'digital democracy' is advocated as the medium through which the United States (or any other country, for that matter) will create a democracy that will be unmatched in intensity in history, with the possible exception of over-idealized visions of ancient Greek city-states.  Citizens from every country on earth will be connected in a way that transcends borders to create a democratic global community.

Baloney.

The fact of the matter is that while the Internet can be a very useful tool for political exchanges, it is not a substitute for reforms democracy desperately needs to remain vital and vibrant.  People today are generally dissatisfied with their political leaders and cynical about politics generally.  The Internet will do nothing to change this situation.

To understand why the Internet will not necessarily foster political debate, think of my wife.  For those of you who do not know her, my wife is an intelligent woman with a college degree (in fact, a double major in visual media and theater).  She currently works as a seamstress.  And she is not interested in politics.  She wasn't interested in politics before we got Web access, and she isn't interested in politics now that we have it.  When she gets on-line, she does not go to www.nytimes.com or www.cnn.com; she goes to Amazon or a genealogy site or to ICQ to chat with friends.  There is nothing wrong with any of these activities, but they don't exactly lead to a democratic renaissance. 

The problem is that the people who believe that digital democracy will be some sort of salvation are the same people who go to the New York Times web site every day.  The problem is that the vast majority of the American (and, I suspect, other) public is not like them.  People who feel alienated from the political system will feel just as alienated on line as they do off line.  People who are just not interested in this year's non-stop mud-fest (er, election) will ignore it on NBC nightly news and on www.msnbc.com.  The Internet is not a savior.

Moreover, there are questions as to whether or not the on-line community that is being built is truly democratic in nature.  Clearly, there are sites (like this one) dedicated to some sort of political debate. There are also sites dedicated to open media, human rights, or various grass-roots political issues.  On the darker side, there are also white supremacist, Neo-Nazi, and hate sites by the barrelfull.  The Internet has been highly successful in helping both types of groups to mobilize.

Obviously, there is some political benefit from the Internet - otherwise, I wouldn't be writing this column.  For people who were interested in politics before, the Internet is a useful tool.  But revitalizing democracy requires far more than simply digitizing it.




Back to Bill's Writings

Back to Bill's Homepage

Soapbox Archive