Nathan Schneider on Building Democratic Governance on the Internet
Apr 1, 2024
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Activist-scholar Nathan Schneider discusses the potential of democratic governance online and its importance for real-world democracy. He emphasizes the need for progressive activists to learn from social movements and use technology creatively. The podcast explores the evolution of the internet, challenges of online democracy, and the importance of grassroots power and democratic innovation.
Creating online spaces for democratic renaissance requires challenging autocratic tendencies.
Bridging the gap between digital and real-life democratic engagement is essential for lasting impact.
Innovative technological tools can promote grassroots power and foster genuine democratic practices.
Deep dives
Challenges of Building Durable Power in Online Social Movements
Online social movements face challenges in creating durable power due to networks not designed for lasting impact. Nathan Schneider highlights the need for self-governance and critical connections beyond viral messages to enact enduring change. By exploring the limitations of platforms shaped by implicit feudalism and corporate structures, he advocates for digital spaces supporting democratic governance and inclusive participation for lasting impact.
Democratic Governance in Online Spaces
Nathan Schneider critiques the internet's governance models, labeling them as implicit feudalism that promote top-down power structures. He suggests a democratic renaissance online by drawing from political philosophy, web 3.0 ideology, and diverse activist movements. Schneider advocates for online spaces enabling self-governance, emphasizing the importance of challenging autocratic tendencies and fostering democratic practices for lasting impact.
Intersection of Digital and Real-Life Democracy
Schneider explores the link between online and offline democracy, emphasizing the essential connection between everyday practices and larger political structures. By referencing thinkers like Alexis de Tocqueville and Robert Putnam, he highlights the impact of online spaces on democratic skills and societal participation. Schneider urges the development of online tools and norms that facilitate self-governance, bridging the gap between digital and real-life democratic engagement.
Rethinking Democracy through Technological Innovation
Schneider delves into the need for reimagining democracy through innovative technological tools. He discusses platforms like Decidim in Barcelona that enhance citizen engagement and decision-making processes. By focusing on creating spaces that foster bottom-up creative action and empowerment, Schneider advocates for technologies designed to promote accountability and genuine democratic practice.
Call for Grassroots Empowerment and Democratic Innovation
Nathan Schneider emphasizes the significance of grassroots power and democratic innovation in shaping the future of democracy. By reflecting on historical movements like the 19th-century populists, he highlights the importance of building durable power through cooperatives and grassroots organizing. Schneider encourages a shift towards accountable democratic practices that resonate with people's everyday experiences to create meaningful societal change.
To counter the "implicit feudalism" that is the norm on the Internet, activist-scholar Nathan Schneider explains the potential of democratic governance in online life and its importance to "real world" democracy. A professor of media studies at the University of Colorado Boulder, Schneider argues that "online spaces could be sites of creative, radical and democratic renaissance." But this will require progressive activists to heed the lessons of various social and decolonial movements throughout history, and to find the resolve to use the technologies in creative ways.
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