The Internet and it's affect on the US Political System

[adios]

A friend of mine started extolling the virtues of the internet about 13 years ago to me. Needless to say things were a lot different then. One of the things he was telling me 13 years ago was that he thought that the current political system in the U.S. could and would change drastically due to the internet. One of the things he pointed out to me was that given secure, reliable, fair etc. internet connections, people could just vote yeah or nay on the things that Congress votes on now. I don't think the politicians are ready to relinquish any power at this point. However, the episode regarding the attempt at passing an immigration bill last summer shows IMO that the internet has changed the political landscape. All the candidates use the internet in their campaigns as well. I'm fairly certain though that the politicians will try and gain control over the internet and what people have access to.

[ALawPoker]

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One of the things he pointed out to me was that given secure, reliable, fair etc. internet connections, people could just vote yeah or nay on the things that Congress votes on now. I don't think the politicians are ready to relinquish any power at this point.

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The idea that elected representatives should be making the decisions is based on more than just the inconvenience of asking everyone. They're supposed to know better, because the average Joe doesn't have enough time (or even necessarily care enough) to make sound decisions about various potentially complicated issues that generally don't affect him.

So I'd prefer smart, well informed people to make decisions rather than let my fate be determined by people aimlessly clicking a mouse.

Oh, wait a minute.

Due to the nature of self-interest, when we elect leaders that have a lot to gain by holding positions, they inevitably end up reflecting the whims of the masses anyways. I guess your friend makes a good point.

[ALawPoker]

In the interest of not ignoring the rest of your OP:

I think the broad, long-term impact of the internet is that corruption and deception become tougher hands to play. It's only natural that as society moves on this would be the case. The internet is one tool.

But I would say that in recent times it has merely polarized world opinions, just by increasing access to political dialog (which in a way is inherently polarizing, imo). Ultimately it's still a productive thing, but sometimes you have to take one step back before you can take two steps forward. There's so much bias everywhere that I guess you have to yell at each other and go to your respective corners before you figure out how to hug. I figure things will start to settle eventually, hopefully while we're still alive, and that the internet can only possibly be a very positive thing. Access to ideas makes decisions better.