Digital Disconnect: How Capitalism is Turning the Internet Against Democracy

Thurs. Nov. 5th 7:00 pm UW-Madison, Wisconsin Union – Frederic March Play Circle (800 Langdon St.)  Digital Disconnect: How Capitalism is Turning the Internet Against Democracy – talk with Prof. Bob McChesney, Univ. of IL-Champaign/Urbana.  Info?  #263-2927 or www.sts.wisc.edu

The emergence of the Internet and the broader digital revolution has turned the world upside down and inside out. In the dominant discourse, the Internet has rejuvenated capitalism and been a powerful force for invigorating democratic politics. Yet contemporary capitalism is mired in stagnation and the economy is arguably worse than at any time since the 1930s. As for American democracy, the consensus among leading political scientists is that the average person has absolutely no influence over the decisions made by elected representatives. This talk examines these paradoxes, and suggests there is a way to make the digital revolution work for democracy, but it will require significant changes in the economy.

Robert W. McChesney is Gutgsell Endowed Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has authored some two dozen books and his work has been translated into 33 languages.