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I think a deeper dive on this is The Revolt of the Public by Martin Gurri [1] which argues, in short, that people have been enabled by the internet (which he ca
by polalavik 9mo ago
I think a deeper dive on this is The Revolt of the Public by Martin Gurri [1] which argues, in short, that people have been enabled by the internet (which he calls the infosphere) and that mobilization via the internet has created extreme turbulence for systems of authority (which are still needed despite their existing issues). The people enabled by the internet have no way to rule, and in many examples do not wish to rule, but only want to dismantle the status quo without any meaningful replacement or solution leaving everyone in a vacuum of nihilism which is highly corrosive to liberal democracy.
[1] https://press.stripe.com/the-revolt-of-the-public https://press.stripe.com/the-revolt-of-the-public
- spencerflem 9mo agoI genuinely don’t get how anyone could feel anything other than nihilism with regards to American democracy
- IlikeKitties 9mo agoI'll add European gerontocracy to that list. Nihilism becomes the obvious and only solution.
- Mountain_Skies 9mo agoYes, it's shocking how common the belief is now that democracy means a person's preferred candidate always wins. Anyone else winning is the death of democracy. The mental gymnastics some people will go through to promote this view can border on mania.
- spencerflem 9mo agoI have zero preferred candidates and likely never will
- brewtide 9mo ago"just because you are offended doesn't mean you are right". It's the modern day way. Perhaps the online filter bubbles over the past... Long while... Have finally shown their long term real world impacts.
- arvid-lind 9mo agoI think it's at least partially because we can't agree on what terms like "democracy" and "fascism" mean anymore, and that doesn't seem like it's going to get any better. Things like diplomacy, bipartisanship, and cooperation can't compete with conflict and aggression in the algorithms. What do we expect will be guiding future generations of voters' opinions and decisions on this kind of stuff?
- AndrewKemendo 9mo agoBut that was always the case for first nations and black Americans. There has literally never been a good time in America for either group.
- spencerflem 9mo agoDon’t think we disagree
- tim333 9mo agoAs someone slightly older I remember when it worked quite well.
- spencerflem 9mo agoWhen the courts stole the election in 2000? The forty years where the only two options were slightly different flavors of Reagan?
- tim333 9mo agoCarter to Bill Clinton seemed ok.
- esyir 9mo agoI'd say that the internet has also strongly lowered the barriers to external propaganda and influence, which is another major factor here. When you've got a huge swarm of "people" with no stake, or even a negative stake in your country, that's a naturally destabilizing factor