92 lines
5.2 KiB
Plaintext
92 lines
5.2 KiB
Plaintext
Is It Anarchy on the Internet?
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In a word, no. Considering that it was founded by branches of the U.S.
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government, and today is funded mostly by commercial companies, public and
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private schools, and the government, it seems like kind of a stupid question.
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But since countless pundits, some of whom even claim to be anarchists, have
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maintained that it is, I'd like to state why I think that the Internet does not
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fit any definition of `anarchism' that I am comfortable with.
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The media seem to have adopted the practice of using the word `anarchy' to
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describe what happens when a government fucks up more than usual--the civil war
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in Somalia being one of the more recent examples. Anarchists, on the other hand,
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use it to describe a system of social organization where people and communities
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take responsibility for their own lives and actions instead of depending on a
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government to do so for them. Anarchists, in other words, are describing a
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positive, proactive alternative to the current political system, whereas the
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popular press are describing the lack or failure of certain acts of the current
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system. So it's not surprising to see some of the various services of the
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Internet, which have pretty much had ``anything goes'' usage policies and have
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remained quite free from government control since their inception, described by
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the press as ``anarchic.'' What is surprising is that I occasionally see
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self-proclaimed ``anarchists'' who seem to agree with this!
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The thinking seems to go like this:
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From a user's point of view, most Internet services are truly
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decentralized. Outside of any given site, there is no central administration,
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and what hierarchies there are tend not to be rigidly ``enforced.''
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Whereas, for instance, it is a crime to send certain items through the
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U.S. Mail, the internation and open nature of, and the enormous volume of
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information carried on, the Internet makes such restrictions on content
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difficult (though not impossible) to enforce.
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In many areas, if you look hard enough, you can find a way to access the
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Internet for free although you often need to own a computer to do so.
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In other words, this philosophy seems to define the Internet in terms of what it
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isn't [not (usually) centralized, not (usually) censored, not (usually)
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expensive]. You'll notice that this fits very neatly into the ``media''
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definition of `anarchism,' but says nothing about the need for a positive
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alternative to government-dependent lifestyles, as required by the ``anarchist's
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definition'' of the word.
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The Internet is a very useful tool. It's both faster and, for most people,
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cheaper than the U.S. Postal Service. It's far cheaper than the telephone, and
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usually just as fast. It's also the easiest way I know of to get a message out
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to a large group of people at once. I also find that I get much more personal
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feedback from email messages than I get from zines, and sometimes even personal
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letters, probably because it's so much easier to do. But there are several
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downsides that we must keep in mind:
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Any computer network or bulletin board is fundamentally classist, because
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most people simply don't have access to it. Whereas nearly anyone can receive
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paper mail or a telephone call, whether or not they have a permanent address,
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you must have access to both a computer and an appropriate account to use the
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Internet. Recognisign this, groups in many cities are forming ``Freenets,''
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which offer (usually) free accounts with Internet email access, and often
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provid public-access terminals. Buit today, at least, the majority of people
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do not have access to these services.
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While personal email can be quite useful, few if any of the services meant
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for large groups of peole to use simultaneously, such as mailing lists (like
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the aaa-web) and Usenet (an enormous ``bulletin board'' system) end up being
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consistently constructive (if, indeed, they are ever constructive at all!).
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Most are like a meeting where the person who shouts the loudest gets to be
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heard, and where those who aren't into screaming tend to eventually leave.
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Spy writer Chip Rowe asked, ``How much would you pay to spend your evenings
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and weekends with a room full of con artists, misogynists, computer geeks,
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snooty academics, rude teenagers, pushy salesmen, Iowa housewives, bad poets,
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Nazi sympathizers, certified morons, corporate suits, Elvis fans, recovering
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alcoholics, aging hippies, pockmarked pornographers, and overzealous FBI
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agents?''
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There's nothing available on the internet that isn't also served by other
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means, like letters and zines, albeit not quite as well, in some instances.
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None of the services that it offers add to our efforts, they simply make them
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a little more convenient. In other words, truly autonomous communities are no
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more likely to arise given the use of the Internet.
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So while Internet services can be a great way to get the word out about the
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real, constructive projects that you and your community are doing, please don't
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fall into the trap of mistaking use of the net itself as something of any real
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value to the creation of an autonomous society.
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-Craig
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Any comments on this article? Send email to the address below!
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Return to home page
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Craig (stuntz@rhic.physics.wayne.edu)
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