Mark E. Kann submitted the above entitled text on October 6, 2005. He would go on to co-author with Merlyna Lim Chapter 3, Politics: Deliberation, Mobilization and Networked Practices of Agitation in Networked Publics (Varnelis, 2008). I must compliment him that he made good progress from this initial somewhat petulant rant to the final edit of Chapter 3.
In the text More or Less Democracy in the Internet Age? (2005), Kann begins by noting "broad disenchantment among people with civic engagement and representative democracy" but that "the growth of the Internet revitalized the democratic imagination" as follows:
"1. The Internet promised to revive the civic sphere and extend community life by providing broad, diverse forums for discussions.
2. The Internet enabled many-to-many citizen interaction that invited online political debate, deliberation, consultation, decision-making, administration, and scrutiny as well as online mobilizing, organizing, petitioning, and protesting.
3. The Internet made polling, plebiscites, and elections relatively cheap and accessible. Conceivably, the voice of the people could be expressed regularly and loudly, expanding popular decision-making and closing the gap between citizens and their representatives."
Kann then goes on to complain that things aren't all they're cracked up to be. "[O]nline talk tends to be undisciplined, intolerant, and superficial rather than deliberative" (2005). "[P]rioritizing deliberation produces exclusionary tendencies. Individuals and groups that do not adhere to high standards of deliberation may be excluded or at least unwelcome by the moderators of online deliberative venues" (2005).
Guess what? Democracy, in practical application, is not perfect. The Internet is not perfect. People are not perfect. Deal with it.
It seems in this 2005 writing, Kann thought the Internet would be a "silver bullet" to fix deliberative democracy's shortcomings when in reality, the Internet is just one more tool in the toolbox.
As an example, political blogging found its stride during the 2004 United States Presidential campaign. In Chapter 3 of Networked Publics (Varnelis, 2008), Lim and Kann write, "The turning point was Howard Dean's Blog for America, which showed how a blog could be used for building social networks of political support" (p. 93). Also, "[t]oday, both in the United States and other countries, it is common for citizens, candidates, political parties, fund-raisers, consultants, lobbyists, interest groups, legislators, and bureaucrats to have online strategies for advancing their goals. E-government literature is saturated with suggestions on how individuals, groups, and officials can communicate and compete more effectively" (p. 77).
In the 2005 text, the only aspects of the Internet Kann praises: "collaborative participation in mobilizations, and tapping public opinion by way of polling and plebiscites seem well suited to Internet technology" (2005). Again, referring to Chapter 3 of Networked Publics (Varnelis, 2008), in the teamed effort, Lim and Kann write, "Democratic talk potentially deepens democracy where it more or less exists. In contrast, mobilization often requires quick, decisive action, emphasizes people's identities as historical agents of change, focuses on corporate influence within and beyond political jurisdictions, and succeeds when activists disrupt and disable undemocratic corporate entities and dictatorships from committing injustices. Democratic mobilization deepens democracy where it does not prevail" (p. 100).
More or less democracy in the Internet Age? It depends upon your perspective. While deliberation and mobilization have traditionally been grassroots activities, the Internet and advancing digital technologies have provided new avenues and speed. Political blogging and political remix are aspects indigenous to the Internet Age. Referring to Green's approach to literacy and technology, all three domains (i.e., Operational, Cultural and Critical) overlap and are necessary skills to master in order to participate. Perhaps it is not a question of more or less; it is just different now than it was before the Internet.
Julie DeBold
