The Internet, Capitalism & Democracy
Remember the information superhighway and all the hype about the Internet? The wonders of the Digital Age would be liberating. A utopian bliss was at hand. Now it sometimes looks more like a dystopia. A handful of monopolies dominate the Internet. Google garners 97% of the mobile search market. Microsoft’s operating system is used by 90% of the world’s computers. Capitalism has colonized cyberspace, spurred the collapse of journalism, independent bookstores and many, many jobs. The sharp decline in antitrust enforcement of violations, the increase in patents on technology and proprietary systems, and massive subsidies have turned large parts of the Internet into an electronic shopping mall. And worse, it has become an unparalleled apparatus for government and corporate surveillance thus further eroding democracy. Activists are attempting to reclaim the democratizing potential of the Internet before the door slams shut.
Speaker
Robert McChesney
Robert McChesney was a leading media historian and public intellectual. He was a professor at the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and later was the Gutgsell Endowed Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. He was co-founder of Free Press, a non-profit organization working to increase public participation in media policy debates. His work focused on the role of journalism and democracy in a capitalist system. An activist scholar, he was a champion of independent progressive media. Noam Chomsky said, “Robert McChesney’s work has been of extraordinary importance. It should be read with care and concern by people who care about freedom and basic rights.” A prolific author, among his many books are Rich Media, Poor Democracy, Blowing the Roof off the Twenty-First Century, and Digital Disconnect. He is co-author with John Nichols of Dollarocracy and People Get Ready. Robert McChesney passed away in late March 2025.
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