[okfn-discuss] workshop on emergent democracy // tuesday 19 august in shoreditch

[Rufus Pollock]

On 09/08/08 19:45, charlesarmstrong wrote:
> hallo everyone

Good to hear from you!

> this is my first post to the list so to introduce myself i'm ceo of the 
> software company trampoline systems (trampolinesystems.com) and founder 
> of circus foundation (circus-foundation.org). i'm organising an informal 
> workshop on emergent democracy on tuesday 19th august at the trampery in 
> shoreditch (details below). jonathan gray suggested i should circulate 
> details to the list. please get in touch if you'd be interested to talk 
> about something you're working on or thinking about at the moment, and 
> feel free to pass the details on to anyone else you think might be 
> interested. there are slots for 3 more contributors available at the 
> moment.
> 
> i'll be presenting part of a session i did at foo camp last month on the 
> relationship between technological innovation and social structure.

This seems a fascinating event and I'd really to come -- unfortunately I 
don't think it likely I can make it down to London on Tuesday. Given 
that I may not be down in person I'd like to take this opportunity to 
make a couple of comments. To start with there was one item in the blurb 
that particularly struck me. This was the quote which went:

 > Depending on who you listen to we’re either on the brink of an explosion
 > of new democratic models or the wholesale abandonment of democracy in
 > favour of more tyrannical structures.

This got me thinking because last September I gave a talk at a Society 
for Computers and the Law event about 'Openness and Sharing' [1]. In it 
I had a section (3.2) entitled "The Dictator and the Anarchist".

[1]:<http://blog.okfn.org/2007/09/18/talk-at-law-20-openness-web-20-and-the-ethic-of-sharing/>

In essence, this argued that the combination of 'nonrival' (digital) 
goods and openness make new, especially efficient, organizational forms 
possible, or, more accurately, changes the effects of existing ones. As 
is also clear the argument does crucially hinge on the 'nonrival' nature 
of information goods, with this situation contrasted with the situation 
of human societies.

If I have understood your event directly it is more about the causation 
in the other direction: that is from technology -> governance of human 
societies (rather than from nature of digital goods -> governance of 
information development projects -> production of information). On this 
score I should probably class myself as something of a pessimist, or at 
best a cautious optimist. To my mind, the main difficulties of effective 
governance arise from classic free-rider type issues, particularly in 
relation to collective decision-making and action (especially in 
relation to sanctioning/rewarding those agents who are appointed to 
positions of authority).

While technology can clearly help with the substantial communication and 
information processing activities such coordination and decision-making 
involve, it can only do so much. For example, individual citizens still 
need to actually read and evaluate information themselves even if the 
'Net or computers make it easier for them to acquire that information. 
Furthermore, while technology makes it easier to participate it also 
mutiplies the ways not to participate -- why spend my time reading up on 
the latest local planning applications or writing to my MP when I can 
play Grand-Theft Auto or wander around World of Warcraft?

Anyway, to close, in my view, even with substantial advances in 
technology, the main difficulties of democratic participation will 
remain the cost on people's time and the associated free-rider issues 
these create. Given this, while it is clear that technology can help, we 
should be fairly sanguine about its likely overall impact. [2]

Regards,

Rufus

[2]: For more cautious realism along similar lines see this earlier 
email which arose out of a discussion of the different viewpoints 
associated with 'Free/Libre' and 'Open':

<http://lists.okfn.org/pipermail/okfn-discuss/2007-September/000572.html>