Direct Digital Democracy
The central question of this paper is whether or not the rise of the Internet – and, in general, new communications technology – alters “the limits of the human capacity for self-government.” My answer to this question is no. Advancements in communications technology, no matter how significant or revolutionary they may at first seem, ultimately have no fundamental effect on man’s literal capacity to govern himself. The Internet, like the television, the telephone, and the transatlantic telegraph before that, all have one basic thing in common: each is a tool and not a force of nature. Each must be comprehended, manipulated and applied by an individual, using his own rational faculty and according to his own devices.
The technology itself – although complex – is fundamentally no different than the spear, the wheel, the stirrup, the combustible engine, or the space shuttle. Technology does not change man’s fundamental nature, but it does affect how well he lives, what he does, where he goes, and how quickly he can get there. Will the Internet alter the American political system? Indeed it will, and to a large extent already has, by facilitating the work of current government officials and representatives within our present system of representative democracy. But will the Internet revolution drive the American system of government toward direct digital democracy – a “third transformation” as significant as the transformation from Athenian direct democracy to American representative democracy? Most empirical evidence suggests it will not. Normatively speaking, political scientists ought to retain James Madison’s view that the purpose of government is to prevent tyranny of the majority and to constrain evil. Therefore, contemporary politicians should openly oppose measures that seek to alter our existing institutions in an effort to make them more conducive to direct democracy, whether digital or not.
This Madisonian view of government is neither the sole standard of government in contemporary American society, nor is it the frontrunner among competing political ideologies. I would argue that the mythology of liberalism or populism is accepted as just and revered by most average Americans. In the 2002 Presidential Election, George W. Bush defeated Al Gore in the Electoral College vote, thus winning the presidency, but lost the overall popular American vote by a significant margin.
...nd the doctor refused to help him because there was nothing he could do. He started to hallucinate and the others made fun of him. Did they not realize they suffer the same fate as him? When Eliezer woke, his father was no longer there. Possibly taken to the crematorium, all Eliezer could think was that he was free at last. What happened to not wanting to be separated from his father? He had become selfish and it is now hard to feel sympathy for him.
Digital democracy is closely linked with e-democracy, which is the idea of allowing people to use digital devices in order to cast their vote, which is said to have the potential to greatly increase electoral turnout by allowing some voters to vote using digital devices, which they wouldn’t have otherwise done with a traditional electoral system. However, it is important to understand that there is a severe danger of some sort of manipulations being done in order to influence the potential result of an election, through hacking or some sort of fraud. Overall, the idea of digital democracy will likely gain popularity with time as the ability of governments to provide secure ways of such e-voting to be
In the concentration camps, the people who were ill were treated poorly and even beaten. Eliezer’s dad becomes very ill half way through the story and is unable to work, this means he is able to stay and rest, but the Nazis treated the ill very harsh. When Eliezer
Direct Democracy vs Representative Democracy The term Democracy is derived from two Greek words, demos, meaning people, and kratos, meaning rule. These two words form the word democracy which means rule by the people. Aristotle, and other ancient Greek political philosophers, used the phrase, `the governors are to be the governed', or as we have come to know it, `rule and be ruled in turn'. The two major types of democracy are Representative Democracy and Direct
In the past, he felt comfortable with the world he lived in. He was content with only focusing on his religious studies and nothing else. When Moishe came back with news of concentration camps, no one believed or listened to him, including Elie. He felt secure because of the things his father had told him. As the threat came closer and closer to the Jews of Sighet, Elie tried to stay optimistic. He did not view the world as a place of disaster and felt like God would protect him even if disaster did strike. However, losing two of the most important aspects of his life, his father and belief in God, caused him to wake up. Eliezer’s view on the world changed dramatically through watching the impassive massacre of innocent people and going through the deaths of this entire family all
Next, when the Jews are transported to Auschwitz, there were so many people on to a single train car that nobody could even sit down because they were packed tighter than sardines. This shows that the Nazis had no sympathy or respect for the detainees. Even though I always knew that the Jews were treated terribly, Wiesel uses amazing details to really convey the atrocious conditions the Jews had to endure, “The Hungarian police made us climb into the cars, eighty persons in each one. They handed us some bread, a few pails of water. They checked the bars on the windows to make sure they would not come loose. One person was placed in charge of every car: if someone managed to escape that person would be shot”( Wiesel 22). It really shocked me how the Gestapo treated them like animals instead of human beings. Another way the Gestapo treated the Jews unfairly was the way they split up families without batting an eye. When people got to the camps they were forced to separate by gender which, caused mass panic for the Jews because they didn’t want to leave their
In the book, family is an important reason for survival. When Eliezer was given a chance to escape, Eliezer chooses to stay with his family instead of leaving selfishly (18). Eliezer choosing family over personal safety makes it evident that family is a key to Eliezer’s instinct of survival. Eliezer’s understanding of “family is survival” strengthens even more when he is in the concentration camps. In the concentration camps, a distant uncle approaches Eliezer and he decides to stay close to this uncle (40). Even though Eliezer and his uncle are distant relatives, Eliezer staying close to him shows Eliezer understands family is a reason to continue to live. During the talks with his uncle in the concentration camps, Eliezer is confronted with the issue of telling his uncle about his family. Eliezer lies to his uncle about what has happened to his family (42). Eliezer lies to his uncle to protect his uncle from losing hope to be alive. By doing this Eliezer displays factors that he understands family is his will to survive. Although Eliezer’s will to survive is his family as the book progresses, the entire family is reduced to his father.
Politicians are always looking for ways to connect with the electorate. The rise of the internet not only allows for distribution of campaign ideas but new ways of voter feedback that was previously unavailable including online fund-raising, and voter mobilization. The internet has the ability to shape the political landscape.
Recording technology wasn’t always a digital process. Before the 1970s, all recordings depended on capturing a physical analogue sound with microphones. This was done on either tape or disk. Analogue recordings lacked the sonic integrity that the 21st century demanded; it was becoming increasingly problematic and expensive in reducing noise and distortion that plagued analogue recordings. As a result, audio researchers began to study digital conversion techniques. They discovered that digitizing an electrical audio signal consisted of sampling the audio wave thousands of times a second, measuring the peak amplitude of each sample, and then assigning one of a limited number of binary values to each.
As this critical juncture begins to take place, there has been much debate between scholars as to whether we should be enthusiastic or wary of these new changes. In Digital Disconnect and in his lectures, McChesney observes both views in an attempt to advance the discussion. On one side, the celebrants are embracing the Internet as a medium that will change society for the better. In Digital Disconnect, McChesney says, “In sum, the celebrants reaffirm one of the most important original arguments from the 1990s, that the Internet will be a force for democracy and good worldwide, ending monopolies of information and centralized control over communication” (McChesney 8). In my opinion, this celebrant view should only be regarded as a best-case scenario because of the unexpected obstacles for society that can...
Piper, Henry Dan. F. Scott Fitzgerald: A Critical Portrait. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1965.
Grossman, Lawrence K. The Shape of the Electronic Republic. Composing Cyberspace. Richard Holeton. United States: McGraw-Hill, 1998, 311-327.
The history of audio recording first started on 6th December 1877 when Thomas Edison made the very first recording of a human voice singing Mary had a little lamb “on the first tinfoil cylinder phonograph” (Schoenherr, 2005). Later that month John Kruesi built the first practical machine using this equipment from a sketch given by Edison, however it was Edison and his tinfoil phonograph which was the first to succeed in recording the human voice.
The Internet freedom provides capable and appropriately universally accessible tools to create a new platform to gather voice from the citizens. Habermas (1989) indicates that with greater access to information approaches greater improvement of the democratic process. For the reason, this opportunity could foster the democratic development. In addition, the result of Michael and Keegan’s (2005) study corroborates a significant correlation between Internet freedom of speech and a common indicator of a nation’s level of democratization. In this information age, the liberty of speech on Internet can break the monopoly of traditional mass media about the political issues. Also this is the guarantee of the development of democracy.
Internet has been acknowledged as one of the most efficient way to collect and reflect public opinions, for that people with different classes and races can express their opinions with no obstacles in virtual network spaces. People can speak out whatever they want just by typing on the keyboard within a second. Dr. Heather Savigny mentions in her article “Public Opinion, Political Communication and the Internet” that “The expansion of the internet as a new method of communication provides a potential challenge to the primacy of the traditional media and political parties as formers of public opinion” (1). People realized that the power of internet public opinion in the focus on social issues can be used as a weapon to affect government decision-makings. However, does public opinion only brings positive effects?