Bursting their Bubble

Another nice piece by Evgeny Morozov, who I've written about before here. In "Think Again: The Internet," Morozov tackles the seven deadly virtues of Internet wishful thinking by debunking each one of the following propositions.

• The Internet Has Been a Force for Good.
• Twitter Will Undermine Dictators.
• Google Defends Internet Freedom.
• The Internet Makes Governments More Accountable.
• The Internet Boosts Political Participation.
• The Internet Is Killing Foreign News.
• The Internet Brings Us Closer Together.

What's interesting about his rhetoric is that he doesn't name names in his criticism of Internet boosterism and political techno-utopianism. As he puts it, "They told us it would usher in a new era of freedom, political activism, and perpetual peace. They were wrong." Yet he doesn't say who the "they" are.

Thanks to Geert Lovink and Jeff Brazil for the link!