Let's talk about the internet.

Economics Economics Questions
1

I’ve been posting and lurking for awhile now and can’t say I’ve seen a thorough discussion about the Internet. These are really general questions. Feel free to post your own questions for others to answer. Simple observations and opinions are pretty sweet too.

  1. I guess the first question one would ask is, How can the State use the internet against me?

  2. Does the Internet make censorship a thing of the past?

As for an opinion, I think the Internet is going to wind up being “the people” personified. Personified by the free market, no less. Nationalism is FOR SURE on it’s way out.

2

  1. The fabled Echelon

  2. The Great Firewall of China.

3

Disinformation. Data collection.

The idea behind the internet. Decentralized networks make censorship very difficult to accomplish.

I agree. To play on something Keynes wrote, “In the long run, we’re all free”.

4
  1. Infiltrate organizations & activists. Happening everywhere, although in some Eastern European countries more obvious - i.e join the org rebelling, those setting up events, the police would get there before anyone else, and then nab the hardcore when they responded.

So as with any new technology, there are pros & cons.

Activists / anti-statists are going to have to come to grips with the cons and deal with them. i.e word of mouth instead for some forms of communication.

5

http://www.thestandard.com/news/2010/01/15/proposed-web-video-restrictions-cause-outrage-italy?page=0,1

Yet another case of people using the state to restrict competition. I wonder what type of madness will be wreaked by intervention of the internet.

6

The internet interpret censorship as damage and reroute accordingly.