4 ms·
Money buys speech. I also used to fantasize about the democratization of speech via the internet. No longer would money determine what information reached you.
by abandonliberty 11y ago
Money buys speech.
I also used to fantasize about the democratization of speech via the internet. No longer would money determine what information reached you.
Adwords is no less ethical than search rankings, newspapers, TV, radio, literature, bus stops, music - reality, ultimately. Reality is for sale.
Good news: I agree that this is a problem.
Bad news: It's incredibly more prevalent than you realize.
If communication of information isn't democratized, you can't have a democracy. It shouldn't be a surprise then that we don't have a democracy, but an oligarchy [1].
Mind you, this is just one of many factors that makes a true democracy impossible as they currently exist. [2]
1 http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-echochambers-27074746 http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-echochambers-27074746
2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_law_of_oligarchy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_law_of_oligarchy
- ArkyBeagle 11y agoWe want speech to be pure and abstract. So this relegates money to our expression of the venal. Then we find this, and wonder why it bothers us. You are ultimately responsible for your own perceptions.
- abandonliberty 11y ago>You are ultimately responsible for your own perceptions. Would you consider a Muslim born and raised in the Maldives, where the state and populous are all Muslim and questioning the status quo can result in severe injury and incarceration, personally responsible for their views even though they are denied alternative perspectives? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_in_the_Maldives https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_in_the_Maldives
- ArkyBeagle 11y agoYes.