Computers and Democracy
Computers and Democracy
This chapter examines how technology, specifically computers and the Internet, affect democracy. It suggests that the answer is still unknown because we have not decided. That is, it is up to us. Two basic alternatives are proposed. On the one hand, new sources of information can be used to do what we already do, only better and more efficiently. The second alternative involves using technology to distract ourselves more profligately than ever, snapping up entertainment, unvetted and fragmentary facts, and anything else that catches the eye, at the expense of deep reading, careful thinking, and distinguishing between sense and nonsense.
Keywords: technology, computers, Internet, democracy
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