morgan.garwood@thing.nyc.ny.us (by way of Pit Schultz ) on Fri, 15 Mar 96 13:25 MET


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nettime: ON MEDIA AND DEMOCRACY


although there a many good claims made for the "democratic" idea, in practice
there isn't strong participation from the public at the level of *ideas*. The
public now serves to ratify agendas which are proposed as part of a
package-deal... you get the Republican box, or the Social Democrat box,
depending on where you are, and you have to make do with what has been packed
in it for you.
   In practice, this is *consumerism* as government... just as television
culture has made mental action resemble information consumerism. One goes
shopping for ideas, or entertainment, which one has no expectation of shaping,
beyond turning the program off or on.
  Changing the situation then requires a *social space* where one experience
more creative input into the *idea shapes* that are released into the public
domain. 
  Mafias and bad governments are like opportunistic infections, the appear in
areas where there is little concept of public *idea shaping*, and do best when
the population resemble sheep.
  In my experience , the forms of discussion that we have here, no matter how
imperfect they are, are very rare in the public sphere. 
  In a fluid environment that may resemble Clauswitz' "fog of war" more than a
stable "game scenario", we need a new form of navigation tool... perhaps we are
like sailors before the time of the compass, and once the compass appears, the
confusions and misdirections become less.
  Since the Dutch government has led the way partly with their Central Planning
Bureau, and the Global Business Network has shown some good ideas in scenario
planning (but maintains a very exclusive club attitude of being ten times
smarter than anyone else); is the next step then to create an interactive site
which concerns itself with *potential futures* ?
  Doing this project will be expensive, and with sponsorship comes
politicization. Maybe the Soros Foundation would help create such a zone.
  I'd have one level of discussion to examine what the *issues* really are, but
not to discuss them in detail. Then there should be *rooms* where solid
information about those issues is presented... what are the realities of
Overpopulation... what are rational drug policies...how does immigration affect
host cultures.... how does the arms industry affect neighbor-state relations...
what is the extent and impact of global counterfeiting.... etc... and then
encourage international discussion of those issues, what sorts of scenarios do
they suggest, and how do we respond to those scenarios?
   If the Global Business Network is so fucking smart, let them take part in
designing "scenario rooms" where we can explore the alternative futures they
contemplate... and if the Dutch CPB is worth its keep, let them participate as
well... we have to move beyond the "azza" phase, "azza" Mongolian Orphan, I...,
or "azza" Boy Raised By Wolves, I....
   There may be much better solutions to our difficulties right under our
noses, but he conversations are too confused, too filled with noise and 
garbage, to really get anywhere...


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