I have a slightly different feeling of what the internet is doing for politics. It's a subtle change, but one which I think has outsized long-term effects. Bas

I have a slightly different feeling of what the internet is doing for politics. It's a subtle change, but one which I think has outsized long-term effects. Basically, my thesis is that we are generating more collective wisdom in the past. There are more "raw stories," and scandals are almost impossible to cover up once they're leaked to the public. Representation for all sides of an argument can be found whenever desired. The rabble-rousers of comment sections everywhere are always willing to debate, even if they usually aren't very good. As all age groups start to contribute, it becomes easier to get a "long view" of society now vs. in the past. And at the bare minimum, we have Wikipedia's record of reality, which may not be perfect, but on matters of political importance, is usually wrung dry of fallicious statements very quickly. While this doesn't change the human condition - we're still going to act in dumb self-interest and get swayed with a lot of the same old tricks - a collective change in perception is a major factor for subsequent changes in action. Everyone says the voting public should be well-informed...and increasingly, they are! But we're still in the "catch-up" phase. Although there are many obvious problems with society as we know it, that doesn't mean we've found answers yet.