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5.2. In There a Contradiction Between a Natural Process and Intervention? (Top)
This is a modern version of the old free-will and determinism dilemma. In this instance, if the new public interest A-Net phenomenon is a spontaneous, bubbling-up phenomenon made possible by the Internet, then how can one intervene? The answer is simple. The bottom-up process is only a tendency that can be enhanced or obstructed through interventions. Immune systems of humans and animals emerge from DNA, but there obviously are things in the environment that interfere and there are things that we can do to facilitate the healthy functioning of immune systems. In economic theory, the so-called "invisible hand" is another example. At this stage in history, it is widely accepted that market mechanisms are the most efficient way to allocate scare resources. But, unregulated markets may have consequences that contradict other human and social goals. Therefore, we intervene. In the case of "emergent democracy," advocacy nets tend to form "spontaneously" and appear to be self-organizing. However, they would not exist without people who set them up and they do not function without leadership - even if that leadership is facilitative. The objective of intervention is to nurture the natural process to the point of being a separate and independent force in the democratic political system.
While intervention is possible, there are very practical problems to be faced. The fact is that at this time we really do not understand the emergent process and therefore do not know the best ways to intervene. Exactly how does the bubbling-up social network phenomenon work? Is it the power law in social nets that says that one or two nets is going to wind up with the huge bulk of traffic? Is it the Ito model that contains three levels of activity - the creative level, the social level, and the political level. Is it something else like organization around individual issues or clusters of issues? What are the principles of leadership? Will there be competition among A-Nets? Will there be countervailing powers among A-Nets? How do A-Nets work together. What is the nature of coalition building - and so forth? Answering these questions with the explicit aim of nurturing a new political institution is a major objective of the Public Interest Network Project.
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References
Ito, Joi, Emergent Democracy Paper, See Weblog References for Democracy and the Internet.
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