Page 18 - Information and American Democracy Technology in the Evolution of Political Power

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Information and Political Change

This book is an inquiry into the evolution of American democracy. It
explores an aspect of democratic politics in the United States about
which surprisingly little is known: the relationship between characteri-
stics of political information in society and broad properties of demo-
craticpowerandpractice.Myinquiryismotivatedinpartbythedramatic
revolution in information technology taking place at the beginning of
the twenty-first century. Over the space of about five years, we have wit-
nessed the adoption of new means for communication and management
of information by virtually every political organization and institution
of consequence in the country. At no time in the history of American
democracy has a new set of communication and information-handling
capacities been assimilated so rapidly by the political system.
The pace of these changes has precipitated much speculation about
political change and transformation, from visions of direct democracy
and erosion of processes of representation and institutional deliberation
because of new technology to enhancement or degradation of the “public
sphere” and the state of citizens’ civic engagement. Such speculations
resonate strongly in a period when democracy in America is enervated
by many problems: low voter turnout, the distortions of money and cam-
paign finance arrangements, low public trust, a political culture dom-
inated by marketing and polling, and the profound influences of one
particular technology, television. What the new capacities for communi-
cation and the management of information portend for such problems,
andindeedwhethertheyportendanythingatall,isonefocusofthisbook.
The year 1999 was in many ways a milestone for the revolution that
was taking place in information technology, in part because an unusual
form of political behavior appeared. This activity involved peripheral
organizations and ad hoc groups using information infrastructure to

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