Mounting Evidence of the Democratizing Power of New Tools

Building on a post Simon Rosenberg wrote yesterday morning and a paper he co-authored a year ago advocating a one laptop per child program, I would like to elaborate on a theme NDN has been developing on the Democratizing power of technological developments. The argument is based on the assumption that making technology available to all people—across socio-economic delineations and geographic boundaries—is having a profound and world changing effect where previously disenfranchised peopled are becoming increasingly empowered. More and more, we are seeing a mounting body of evidence, as manifested in world events, to support this world-view.

While the article in The New York Times Magazine that Simon mentions focuses primarily on economics, it is not difficult to see the link between the promise of aiding millions (if not billions) in pulling themselves out of poverty and engendering citizens with greater freedom, as increased wealth pushes them up the hierarchy of needs. But I would like to focus in on some of the many examples—some of which Simon alluded to—of ordinary people using what is becoming ubiquitous technology to make their voices heard.

Most recently, the protests in Tibet showed how even the Chinese government, infamous for it's ability to control the movement of electronic information, wasn't able to silence news of the violence.

Tibetan monks at a monastery in Sichuan province sent word to exiled monks in Dharamsala, India, that two monks were arrested after they e-mailed photographs of monks killed in protests to the news media. Internet and phone service has since been interrupted to the Amdo Ngaba Kirti Monastery in Ngaba County, the exiles told CNN.

Of course, the Chinese government continues to exert its control over digital information as is evidenced above and its move to block YouTube and other online video sites. Still, these efforts are not fully effective as is noted here:

Beijing's blocking of the Web sites was not 100 percent effective: Tests by researchers at UC Davis and the University of New Mexico showed that banned words reached their destinations on about 28 percent of the paths they tested. Filtering was least effective during periods of heavy Internet traffic.

Last week in Egypt, we saw the use of cellphone messages to organize strikes. Not only were people using the medium to congregate, but the messages also helped citizens unify their message.

What may have most spooked officials was the way technology, especially cellphones, was used to spread the word, political analysts said. Mass messages circulated listing “demands” that included increased security, no more inflation, housing aid for young couples and an end to “torture in police stations.”

These are not isolated incidents. During the violent suppression of protests in Myanmar, ordinary citizens equipped with mobile devices were able record video, take pictures and transmit this information outside the country fostering international condemnation of the Burmese government's actions. Cuba has seen the emergence of a vibrant blogger community, which openly questions the government. (Although this may amount to the spread of an unhealthy habit.) Looking a little further back, in 2006, marches for immigrant-rights were strengthened by new communication tools. One reporter in San Francisco notes:

What's equally clear is that the immigrant protests in recent weeks haven't been the result of a formal plan issued by pro-immigrant organizations. Rather they've been fueled by word of mouth reinforced by Spanish language talk radio and television, and a plethora of new technologies, including cell phones, instant messaging and Web sites such as myspace.com.

The examples listed above may simply be the portent of a much larger shift. A shift that isn't merely a suped up vehicle carrying the same forms of communication, but rather a change that fundamentally alters the nature of our communication. One such alteration could be what Simon referred to as the virtuous cycle of participation, where new tools allow for a dynamic and fluid kind of networking. One where the barrier to entry is so low that anyone with an internet connection or a cellphone can immediately become an active member of a muscular and potent organization.

As further evidence emerges of new technologies giving voice to dissenting views and pulling people out of poverty, I'll try—along with others and NDN and NPI—to document these developments.

At the New Politics Institute we have already done a great deal of work examining the power of these new technologies to influence politics. That work can be found here.