Webster and Cryptocurrency

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The idea of decentralization appeals to people beyond the kind of small circle of folks who could actually make a lot of money from it. It speaks to this deeper intuition that something has gone horribly wrong with the internet, and that, you know, part of what has gone wrong is this intense concentration of power. And i think those are correct perceptions. Now, whether those perceptions are funneled towards web three projects or to a more sober minded analysis of the political economy of the internet is an open question. But i, i think that we can try to meet people where they are and make the case for why web three is unlikely to solve those problems.

Paris Marx is joined by Ben Tarnoff to discuss why the problems with the modern internet, including its excessive concentration in the hands of a few companies and the way its dominant firms shape our interactions to generate profit, find their root in the decision to privatize the network. To fix them, that needs to be changed.

Ben Tarnoff is the author of Internet for the People: The Fight for Our Digital Future and the co-founder of Logic Magazine. Follow Ben on Twitter at @bentarnoff.

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.

Find out more about Harbinger Media Network at harbingermedianetwork.com.

Also mentioned in this episode:

An excerpt of Ben’s book was published in the New York Times.
Victor Pickard wrote about the history of public media in Democracy Without Journalism.
Newt Gingrich and George Gilder, once featured by Wired for their visions for the internet, have now become big crypto fans.
The United States has terrible broadband access.
Major tech companies are buying up undersea internet cables.
Tarleton Gillespie wrote about the politics of platforms and what the term suggests.
Jathan Sadowski compares platforms to shopping malls.
Tressie McMillan Cottom wrote about the predatory inclusion of the internet.
Community internet has shown success in the United States, while provincial public telcos have a history of positive outcomes in Canada.