Here’s the first of two essays I’ve recently penned making “The Case for Internet Optimism.” This essay was included in the book, The Next Digital Decade: Essays on the Future of the Internet (2011), which was edited by Berin Szoka and Adam Marcus of TechFreedom. In these essays, I identify two schools of Internet pessimism: (1) “Net Skeptics,” who are pessimistic about the Internet improving the lot of mankind; and (2) “Net Lovers,” who appreciate the benefits the Net brings society but who fear those benefits are disappearing, or that the Net or openness are dying. (Regular readers of this blog will be familiar with these themes since I sketched them out in previous essays here such as, “Are You an Internet Optimist or Pessimist?” and “Two Schools of Internet Pessimism.”) The second essay is here.
This essay focuses on the first variant of Internet pessimism, which is rooted in general skepticism about the supposed benefits of cyberspace, digital technologies, and information abundance. The proponents of this pessimistic view often wax nostalgic about some supposed “good ‘ol days” when life was much better (although they can’t seem to agree when those were). At a minimum, they want us to slow down and think twice about life in the Information Age and how it’s personally affecting each of us. Occasionally, however, this pessimism borders on neo-Ludditism, with some proponents recommending steps to curtail what they feel is the destructive impact of the Net or digital technologies on culture or the economy. I identify the leading exponents of this view of Internet pessimism and their major works. I trace their technological pessimism back to Plato but argue that their pessimism is largely unwarranted. Humans are more resilient than pessimists care to admit and we learn how to adapt to technological change and assimilate new tools into our lives over time. Moreover, were we really better off in the scarcity era when we were collectively suffering from information poverty? Generally speaking, despite the challenges it presents society, information abundance is a better dilemma to be facing than information poverty. Nonetheless, I argue, we should not underestimate or belittle the disruptive impacts associated with the Information Revolution. But we need to find ways to better cope with turbulent change in a dynamist fashion instead of attempting to roll back the clock on progress or recapture “the good ‘ol days,” which actually weren’t all that good.
Down below, I have embedded the entire chapter in a Scribd reader, but the essay can also be found on the TechFreedom website for the book as well as on SSRN. I have also includes two updated tables that appeared in my old “optimists vs. pessimists” essay. The first lists some of the leading Internet optimists and pessimists and their books. The second table outlines some of the major lines of disagreement between these two camps and I divided those disagreements into (1) Cultural / Social beliefs vs. (2) Economic / Business beliefs.
Adam Thierer is a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. He previously served as President of The Progress & Freedom Foundation, as Director of Telecommunications Studies at the Cato Institute, and as a Fellow in Economic Policy at the Heritage Foundation. He is the author or editor of six books on technology and media policy and also writes a weekly column for Forbes called "Technologies of Freedom." Thierer earned his bachelor's degree in political science and journalism at Indiana University and received his master's degree in international business management and trade theory at the University of Maryland. His passions in life (besides technology and liberty, of course) are fast cars, fine cigars, and good beer.
http://topsy.com/techliberation.com/2011/01/31/the-case-for-internet-optimism-part-1-saving-the-net-from-its-detractors/?utm_source=pingback&utm_campaign=L2 Tweets that mention The Case for Internet Optimism, Part 1: Saving the Net From Its Detractors — Topsy.com
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Tech LiberationFront, Kathleen Hanover. Kathleen Hanover said: The Case for Internet Optimism, Part 1: Saving the Net From Its Detractors: Here’s the first of two essays I’ve … http://bit.ly/e8il40 [...]
http://techliberation.com/2010/01/31/are-you-an-internet-optimist-or-pessimist-the-great-debate-over-technology%e2%80%99s-impact-on-society/ Are You An Internet Optimist or Pessimist? The Great Debate over Technology’s Impact on Society
[...] input. Update Jan. 2011: I finally published a full-length essay on this topic. You can find it here. [...]
http://techliberation.com/2011/02/24/techno-panic-cycles-and-how-the-latest-privacy-scare-fits-in/ Techno-Panic Cycles (and How the Latest Privacy Scare Fits In)
[...] Finally, in these discussion, I believe many people overlook the importance of human adaptability and resiliency. The amazing thing about humans is that we adapt so much better than other creatures. When it comes to technological change, resiliency is hard-wired into our genes. “The techno-apocalypse never comes,” notes Slate’s Jack Shafer, because “cultures tend to assimilate and normalize new technology in ways the fretful never anticipate.” We learn how to use the new tools given to us and make them part of our lives and culture. Indeed, we have lived through revolutions more radical than the Information Revolution. We can adapt and learn to live with some of the legitimate difficulties and downsides of the Information Age. [See my recent book chapter on, "The Case for Internet Optimism, Part 1: Saving the Net From Its Detractors."] [...]
http://techliberation.com/2011/02/26/noonan-on-how-the-internet-improves-political-rhetoric-knowledge/ Noonan on How the Internet Improves Political Rhetoric & Knowledge
[...] readers know of my generally bullish, optimistic outlook regarding the Internet’s impact on society, economy, and even politics. On that last front, [...]
http://techliberation.com/2011/03/14/virginia-postrel-takes-on-the-zittrain-thesis/ Virginia Postrel Takes on the Zittrain Thesis
[...] numerous occasions here and elsewhere I have cited the enormous influence that Virginia Postrel’s 1998 book, The Future and Its [...]
http://techliberation.com/2011/07/21/marshall-mcluhan-at-100-excerpts-from-his-playboy-interview/ Marshall McLuhan at 100: Excerpts from his Playboy Interview
[...] the interview while working on a chapter for my next book on Internet optimism and pessimism, a topic I’ve spent a great deal of time pondering here in the past. Toward the end of the interview, McLuhan is asked by Norden to respond to some of [...]
http://techliberation.com/2011/06/13/adventure-windows-revisited-why-we-struggle-with-new-trends-technologies/ “Adventure Windows” Revisited: Why We Struggle with New Trends & Technologies
[...] as I point out in my old “Net optimists vs. pessimisms” essay and subsequent book chapter, you can actually trace this debate all the way back to the well-known allegorical tale from [...]
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