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Overview
What happens to democracy and free speech if people use the Internet to listen and speak only to the like-minded? What is the benefit of the Internet's unlimited choices if citizens narrowly filter the information they receive? Cass Sunstein first asked these questions in 2001's Republic.com. Now, in Republic.com 2.0, Sunstein thoroughly rethinks the critical relationship between democracy and the Internet in a world where partisan Weblogs have emerged as a significant political force.
Republic.com 2.0 highlights new research on how people are using the Internet, especially the blogosphere. Sunstein warns against "information cocoons" and "echo chambers," wherein people avoid the news and opinions that they don't want to hear. He also demonstrates the need to regulate the innumerable choices made possible by technology. His proposed remedies and reforms emphasize what consumers and producers can do to help avoid the perils, and realize the promise, of the Internet.
Synopsis
"Republic.com enraged many because it asked a set of uncomfortable questions that few had a way of answering. In this beautifully revised edition, Sunstein continues to press these difficult questions, not as an attack on new technologies but as a challenge to make them make democracy work. This is a compelling if sober set of questions from America's foremost legal scholar."--Lawrence Lessig, Stanford University
Stephen Labaton - New York Times Book Review
Praise for Republic.com: "Republic.com raises important and troubling questions about the effects of the Internet on a democratic society.
Editorials
Times Higher Education -
Republic.com 2.0 is a refreshing counter to overly optimistic perspectives on the internet and democracy, and Sunstein turns Utopian visions of the internet enabling individuals to gain access to exactly what they are interested in—'The Daily Me'—into a critical assessment of its potential for undermining democratic discourse.Choice -
[Sunstein] argues persuasively that the fragmented market for communications, which may cater to the desires of consumers, is harmful to the development of informed and moderate citizens because it limits or even makes impossible exposure to unsolicited, diverse, and occasionally unwelcome views, all of which are necessary in democracies....This book is a splendid antidote to the views of the utopian populists who equate democracy with information choice provided over the internet.San Francisco Chronicle
By its nature, Sunstein argues, the Web fragments us into ever-smaller niches. In this way, for all of its incredible, information-sharing connectivity, the Web can be isolating, especially when groups begin to 'echo chamber' and talk only to themselves...To my mind, Sunstein has always been lucid and valuable on this topic. But despite the Web's culture-changing successes—wiring up the economy, influencing presidential campaigns—many Web advocates and bloggers still act as though they're threatened. When they're not acting triumphalist, that is. Even the lightest guidelines, in short, will be resented, particularly when our confusion of free markets with free speech has proved so profitable.Virginia Quarterly Review
This book, now in a substantially revised edition, remains the most effective public work depicting this debate and urging on us this proper vision of a reasonable freedom.Metapsychology Online Reviews
Lucid and thought-provoking, Republic.com 2.0 raises important concerns. . . . Carefully argued, well balanced, and accessible to a general audience.New York Times Book Review
Praise for Republic.com: "Republic.com raises important and troubling questions about the effects of the Internet on a democratic society.
Financial Times
Praise for Republic.com: "Cass Sunstein sounds a timely warning in this concise, sophisticated account of the rise of the internet culture. He argues that it is our very ability to wrap ourselves in our own tastes, views, and prejudices with the aid of technology that constitutes a real threat to the traditional democratic values.
New York Times Book Review
Praise for Republic.com: Republic.com raises important and troubling questions about the effects of the Internet on a democratic society.— Stephen Labaton
Times Higher Education
Republic.com 2.0 is a refreshing counter to overly optimistic perspectives on the internet and democracy, and Sunstein turns Utopian visions of the internet enabling individuals to gain access to exactly what they are interested in—'The Daily Me'—into a critical assessment of its potential for undermining democratic discourse.— William Dutton
Choice
[Sunstein] argues persuasively that the fragmented market for communications, which may cater to the desires of consumers, is harmful to the development of informed and moderate citizens because it limits or even makes impossible exposure to unsolicited, diverse, and occasionally unwelcome views, all of which are necessary in democracies....This book is a splendid antidote to the views of the utopian populists who equate democracy with information choice provided over the internet.— B. Cooper
Financial Times
Praise for Republic.com: Cass Sunstein sounds a timely warning in this concise, sophisticated account of the rise of the internet culture. He argues that it is our very ability to wrap ourselves in our own tastes, views, and prejudices with the aid of technology that constitutes a real threat to the traditional democratic values.— Peter Aspden
San Francisco Chronicle
By its nature, Sunstein argues, the Web fragments us into ever-smaller niches. In this way, for all of its incredible, information-sharing connectivity, the Web can be isolating, especially when groups begin to 'echo chamber' and talk only to themselves...To my mind, Sunstein has always been lucid and valuable on this topic. But despite the Web's culture-changing successes—wiring up the economy, influencing presidential campaigns—many Web advocates and bloggers still act as though they're threatened. When they're not acting triumphalist, that is. Even the lightest guidelines, in short, will be resented, particularly when our confusion of free markets with free speech has proved so profitable.— Jerome Weeks
Virginia Quarterly Review
This book, now in a substantially revised edition, remains the most effective public work depicting this debate and urging on us this proper vision of a reasonable freedom.— Charles Mathewes
Metapsychology Online Reviews
Lucid and thought-provoking, Republic.com 2.0 raises important concerns. . . . Carefully argued, well balanced, and accessible to a general audience.— Elisabeth Herschbach
Times Higher Education
Republic.com 2.0 is a refreshing counter to overly optimistic perspectives on the internet and democracy, and Sunstein turns Utopian visions of the internet enabling individuals to gain access to exactly what they are interested in—'The Daily Me'—into a critical assessment of its potential for undermining democratic discourse.— William Dutton
Financial Times
Praise for Republic.com: "Cass Sunstein sounds a timely warning in this concise, sophisticated account of the rise of the internet culture. He argues that it is our very ability to wrap ourselves in our own tastes, views, and prejudices with the aid of technology that constitutes a real threat to the traditional democratic values.— Peter Aspden
New York Times Book Review
Praise for Republic.com: "Republic.com raises important and troubling questions about the effects of the Internet on a democratic society.— Stephen Labaton
Metapsychology Online Reviews
Lucid and thought-provoking, Republic.com 2.0 raises important concerns. . . . Carefully argued, well balanced, and accessible to a general audience.— Elisabeth Herschbach
Financial Times
Praise for Republic.com: "Cass Sunstein sounds a timely warning in this concise, sophisticated account of the rise of the internet culture. He argues that it is our very ability to wrap ourselves in our own tastes, views, and prejudices with the aid of technology that constitutes a real threat to the traditional democratic values.— Peter Aspden
New York Times Book Review
Praise for Republic.com: "Republic.com raises important and troubling questions about the effects of the Internet on a democratic society.— Stephen Labaton
Book Details
Published
August 1, 2009
Publisher
Princeton University Press
Pages
272
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9780691143286