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a review of Robert W. McChesney, Digital Disconnect: How Capitalism Is Turning the Internet Against Democracy (The New Press, 2014) by Richard Hill ~ Many of us have noticed that much of the news ... 
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FLOK stands for “Free, Libre, Open Knowledge,” and the FLOK Society is a government-sponsored project to imagine how Ecuador might make a strategic transition to a workable post-capitalist knowledge economy.
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Bitcoin is meant to fix money, social media are seen as an antidote to Rupert Murdoch and assorted tyrants, networked robots are to help countries like Japan deal with demographic declines etc. Perhaps the largest claim is that the Internet has helped (or is about to help) democratize capitalism. Ten years ago that claim struck me as both fascinating and dubious. So, I sat down and wrote an article about it (circa 2004). Its gist: The Internet is a wonderful leveller.
Monica S Mcfeeters's curator insight,
February 22, 2014 11:19 AM
This is a question we all need to give some thought too.. 
Mlik Sahib's curator insight,
February 22, 2014 11:46 PM
"The good news is that it can. The bad news is that for citizenship to be simultaneouly widespread and valuable, the political sphere must claw back much of the authority that it has lost to the economic sphere; first at the time of the Enclosures and, more recently, after the 2008 debacle. None of that ‘clawing back’ will result automatically from our splendid connectivity through Twitter, Facebook and various other Apps and Internet resources. They may give us voice but they will not grant us isegoria. To create isegoria, and thus to empower citizens broadly, our ‘connected’ social economy must not only allow rulers and citizens to communicate but should also feature multiple networks enabling consumers, labourers and innovators to form units of production which create and distribute value in a participatory manner; in a manner such that no one employs anyone and everyone contributes labour and ideas while being rewarded according to contribution but also need. Of course this requires nothing short of a revolution in the foundations of capitalist production. It will not happen through idle chatter in the social media. If it happens, it will occur as the Internet undermines the currently dominant corporate model which relies on the segregation between non-labouring shareholders and labouring non-owners. Only when the capitalist type of firm loses its ‘evolutionary fitness,’ due to technological Internet-based innovations, and gives its place to a new type of participatory production model, will the political and the economic sphere become integrated again in a manner consistent with democratic principles. Then e’democracy may be born as our e’Demos reclaims control of the economic sphere."
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For my digital journalism students, I explain why histories like Zaret's "Origins of Democratic Culture" are important to understanding the implications of today's changing news media landscape to the future of democracy
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On October 25th, once again, the FCForum in Barcelona will analyse the advances of the past twelve months and will consider the future outlook in the struggle for democracy in the digital era, free culture and net neutrality.
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This study analyzed public opinion data for the 45 societies from the latest World Values Survey and found that Internet use promotes democratic support in democratic countries but not in authoritarian countries. In advanced democracies, democratic ideas and thoughts are freely produced and disseminated in cyberspace, and Internet users tend to absorb them. On the other hand, this online content is highly controlled by authoritarian governments in non-democratic settings, and Internet users are likely to be exposed to pro-government messages and entertainment, thereby nullifying the democratic utility of Internet use. These different social learning processes result in a global reinforcement effect of Internet use on democratic support. The results confirm that the Internet is a neutral technology and its effect depends on the political environment where it is used.
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A cursory glance at the comment section of the UK's leading newspapers suggests that democratic engagement is at an all time low; we are generation apathetic. In their annual health check, the Audit of Political Engagement, the Hansard Society paint a bleak picture of participation trends in Britain. Only 41% of those surveyed are committed to voting in the next General Election. Moreover, less than 1% of the population is a member of a political party. However, 38 Degrees, the political activist movement, bucks these downward trends. In the four years since their foundation in 2009, 38 Degrees have amassed a membership of 1.8 million individuals—more than three times the entire combined memberships of all of Britain’s political parties.
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Time magazine's 2006 "Person of the Year" award went not to Ahmadinejad, Chávez, Kim Jong-il, or any other of the usual suspects, but to "you", that is each and every one of us using or creating content on the world wide web. The cover showed a white keyboard with a mirror for a computer screen where readers can see their own reflection. To justify the choice, Time's editors cited the shift from institutions to individuals who are said to be emerging as the citizens of a new digital democracy.
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Creating a new Internet that can't be tapped or hacked, by using the power of the smartphones in our pockets.
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The idea that the Internet should be operated like a public “road” — carrying all traffic, with no discrimination against any traveler, no matter what size, shape or type — seems to many a bedrock principle. Under current Federal Communications Commission policy, broadband providers such as Verizon and Comcast must treat all content equally, including news sites, Facebook and Twitter, cloud-based business activities, role-playing games, Netflix videos, peer-to-peer music file sharing, photos on Flickr — even gambling activity and pornography. Citizens can run all manner of applications and devices, and no content provider is given preferential treatment or a faster “lane” than anyone else. No content can be blocked by Internet service providers or charged differential rates.
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