Dreaming of computerized democracy
Posted on February 28, 2002 @ 09:31 in Research
I picked up a copy of Katie Hafner and Matthew Lyon's book Where Wizards Stay Up Late: The Origins of the Internet [link: Amazon] the other day. It's interesting to see how so early on, even before official projects for building a network had been initiated by ARPA, one of ARPA's first directors, Licklider, muses about the possibilities of computers for a widespread rational and informed 'people's' democracy. This is an idea that keeps popping up at every turn, with every new technology (VCR's, HAM radio, newsprint all come to mind) and its promises are invariably not fulfilled because 'the common man' just isn't so politically interested, even with all the information at his/her fingertips. Hafner and Lyon place the following quotes from Licklider sometime in the second half of the 1950s (Hafner and Lyon aren't totally clear on that) and write:
The idea on which [Licklider's] worldview pivoted was that technological progress would save humanity. The political process was a favorite example of his. In a McLuhanesque view of the power of electronic media, [Licklider] saw a future in which, thanks in large part to the reach of computers, most citizens would be "informed about, and interested in, and involved in, the process of government." He imagined what he called "home computer consoles" and television sets linked together in a massive network. "The political process," he wrote, "would essentially be a giant teleconference, and a campaign would be a months-long series of communications among candidates, propagandists, commentators, political action groups, and voters. The key is the self-motivating exhilaration that accompanies truly effective interaction with information through a good console and a good network to a good computer." (Hafner & Lyon, 1996: 34)
(Hafner, Katie & Matthew Lyon (1996) Where Wizards Stay Up Late. The Origins of the Internet. New York: Touchstone, 1998)
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I have, for awhile, been thinking of replacing politicians with an on-line, direct democracy, peoples legislature. Bills would be posted and brought to a vote on a specific date if there was enough initial support.
I don't believe it would be nescessary for everybody to vote on every issue, but only what they were knowlegeable about and/or what they felt strongly about.
This process wouldn't have to be limited to the computor, the telephone could be used to vote as well. The government could also appear in hard print so it would be availible to all.
I am wondering if there are any similar Ideas out there.
I also think it could be started imediately as a sort of sample government on the internet, which might automatically take over as the real government someday.Posted by Stephen Boehm on August 04, 2002 @ 15:34
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