Re: <nettime> Digital Politics <--> Digital Economics

[Flick Harrison <flick@flickharrison.com>]

Democracy originated in the cold war!?  Hard to take a thesis about democracy seriously that starts the story 2500 years late.

Castro had it right when he said Greek democracy was a lie: only Citizens had rights while slaves were traded like chattel.  No need to revise the Ancients out of your narrative to make a point about political systems.

Nevertheless, calling Social Psychology some kind of Sauron-like distortion to the public sphere is just whinging.  You may as well hold up a wooden cross to ward off any good public speaker.  People who want to influence will do their best, with all tools available.  Even in an anarchist system, there would be people who were better or worse at persuading their audience to vote / affinity-group with them.

Also, get it through your head, China has a shitty government.  Look at the Tar Sands development they are planning with our far-right canadian government and tell me they are somehow outside the international norm for bullshit oligarchic regimes.

Damn, you think the Chinese government doesn't use social psychology??!

You said before you don't know much about China.  Well, watch this video all the way through - don't fast forward, imagine you are a peasant in a little hut getting SD TV through an aerial.

http://youtu.be/zVhzu7iIgtY?t=10m40s

Even if you had an iron-clad argument against democracy (or even Democracy), that doesn't prove China is Good.

I hate to sound like a cold warrior myself, but why don't you go to China and try to have a real serious discussion about politics with the first five random people you meet?  You won't, because they will be terrified to talk to you, or they will hand you oppressive platitudes like "It's okay to ban facebook because otherwise irresponsible agitators will cause unrest."

-- 
* WHERE'S MY ARTICLE, WORLD? http://wikipedia.org/wiki/Flick_Harrison 

* FLICK's WEBSITE: 
http://www.flickharrison.com

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