Journal article
THE TRANSPARENT SOCIETY By David Brin
Harvard Journal of Law & Technology, Vol.12, pp.513-683
01/01/1999
Abstract
The Transparent Society , 1 by David Brin, and Data Smog , 2 by David Shenk, each posit a problem in the current social/political/economic structure of (mainly American) society. This problem is rooted in the public, embodied in the archaic idea of the "common man," losing control of the communication structures of society. The powerful, embodied by government and corporations, control both the information and the channels used to communicate this information. Each author offers the popular audience a set of solutions to this problem, both acting in and criticizing the communications sphere. This Note will engage both Brin and Shenk on two grounds. First, each takes unrealistic, and at times internally inconsistent, views of the nature of corporate and government power in the modern United States. Each takes positions that misunderstand either the extent or the limitations of power centers, especially corporate ones. The second area of discussion is the conception of the self, the audience, and the self in relation to society, that each proposes. Here, there is considerably more commonality between the two works. While the policies that each proposes rest at opposite extremes on the spectrum of individual integration with society, their conception of the individual rests on substantially similar, and similarly questionable, ground. It is important to realize that both books are "popular" works, speaking to a particular audience who, not coincidentally, are the most likely beneficiaries of their proposed policies. I. SUMMARY: BRIN The problem is easily identified: advancing surveillance technology and ...
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- THE TRANSPARENT SOCIETY By David Brin
- Creators
- Paul Gowder
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Harvard Journal of Law & Technology, Vol.12, pp.513-683
- Publisher
- the President and Fellows of Harvard College Harvard Journal of Law & Technology
- ISSN
- 0897-3393
- eISSN
- 2153-263X
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 01/01/1999
- Academic Unit
- Philosophy; Law Faculty; Political Science
- Record Identifier
- 9983983261202771
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