Page 214 - Information and American Democracy Technology in the Evolution of Political Power

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Political Individuals in the Fourth
Information Revolution

THE INFORMED CITIZEN?
The value of an informed citizenry is a well-established tenet of American
1
popular culture. At the core of good citizenship, so the belief goes, is
the reasoned consideration of political information by citizens with an
interest in civic affairs. To be informed is to fulfill part of one’s civic duty,
not only because information is a gateway into political engagement, but
because being informed is itself virtuous. In short, the informed citizen
is the responsible citizen, and the responsible citizen an informed one.
The story of information revolutions up through the rise of contem-
porary information technology raises an interesting question about this
ideal of informed citizenship. If the evolution of media and the chang-
ing characteristics of information across time lead to changes in the
nature of political intermediaries, what about levels of citizen engage-
ment? Is the rise of information abundance and new postbureaucratic
structures for collective action in the contemporary period linked to
broader engagement in politics? Some of the case studies of the last
chapter may seem to imply that the answer is yes. The Million Mom
March, the Know Your Customer protest, and the new “lite-green” envi-
ronmental affiliates might suggest that altered organizational structures
are broadening participation in politics. As the nature of membership
and the boundaries of organizations are altered, it may be that larger
numbers of citizens are being drawn into politics – unless organizational
changes simply mean new patterns of alliance and engagement by the

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This chapter expands on the theoretical argument and evidence from the 1996 and
1998 elections that appeared in an article by the author, “Information and Political
Engagement in America: The Search for Effects of Information Technology at the
Individual Level,” Political Research Quarterly 54, no. 1 (2001): 53–67.

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