The Net Delusion
How Not to Liberate The World
1st Edition
Published on 6. January 2011
432 pages
978-0-14-196182-8 (ISBN)
Description
Does free information mean free people?
At the start of the twenty-first century we were promised that the internet would liberate the world. We could come together as never before, and from Iran's 'twitter revolution' to Facebook 'activism', technological innovation
would spread democracy to oppressed peoples everywhere.
We couldn't have been more wrong. In The Net Delusion Evgeny Morozov destroys this myth, arguing that 'internet freedom' is an illusion, and that technology has failed to help protect people's rights. Not only that - in many cases the internet is actually helping authoritarian regimes. From China to Russia to Iran, oppressive governments are using cyberspace to stifle dissent: planting clandestine propaganda, employing sophisticated digital censorship and
using online surveillance. We are all being manipulated in more subtle ways too - becoming pacified by the net, instead of truly engaging.
This book is a wake-up call. It shows us how our misplaced faith in cyber-utopia means the West risks missing the real challenges. Morozov argues that we must look at other ways of promoting democracy abroad, and forces us - policymakers and citizens alike - to recognize that all our freedoms are at stake.
At the start of the twenty-first century we were promised that the internet would liberate the world. We could come together as never before, and from Iran's 'twitter revolution' to Facebook 'activism', technological innovation
would spread democracy to oppressed peoples everywhere.
We couldn't have been more wrong. In The Net Delusion Evgeny Morozov destroys this myth, arguing that 'internet freedom' is an illusion, and that technology has failed to help protect people's rights. Not only that - in many cases the internet is actually helping authoritarian regimes. From China to Russia to Iran, oppressive governments are using cyberspace to stifle dissent: planting clandestine propaganda, employing sophisticated digital censorship and
using online surveillance. We are all being manipulated in more subtle ways too - becoming pacified by the net, instead of truly engaging.
This book is a wake-up call. It shows us how our misplaced faith in cyber-utopia means the West risks missing the real challenges. Morozov argues that we must look at other ways of promoting democracy abroad, and forces us - policymakers and citizens alike - to recognize that all our freedoms are at stake.
Reviews / Votes
Evgeny Morozov offers a rare note of wisdom and common sense, on an issue overwhelmed by digital utopians -- MALCOLM GLADWELL Gleefully iconoclastic ... not just unfailingly readable: it is also a provocative, enlightening and welcome riposte to the cyber-utopian worldview. * The Economist * A delight ... his demolition job on the embarrassments of "internet freedom" is comprehensive ... as we go down the rabbit-hole of WikiLeaks, Morozov's humane and rational lantern will help us land without breaking our legs. -- Pat Kane * The Independent * A passionate and heavily researched account of the case against the cyber-utopians ... only by becoming "cyber-realists" can we hope to make humane and effective policy. -- Bryan Appleyard * New Statesman * Evgeny Morozov is wonderfully knowledgeable about the Internet-he seems to have studied every use of it, or every political use, in every country in the world (and to have read all the posts). And he is wonderfully sophisticated and tough-minded about politics. This is a rare combination, and it makes for a powerful argument against the latest versions of technological romanticism. His book should be required reading for every political activist who hopes to change the world on the Internet. * Michael Walzer, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton * The Net Delusion is considerably more than an assault on political rhetoric ... a war against complacency. -- Tom Chatfield * Observer * Required reading for all ... a compelling primer and rebuff to the "cyber utopians" ... trenchant and persuasive. -- John Kampfner * Sunday Times * Lively and combative ... dauntingly well-informed ... injects a welcome dose of common sense into an issue that has been absurdly lacking in it. -- John Preston * Sunday Telegraph * Piercing...convincing...timely. -- Ben Hammersley * Financial Times * [M]ore than rewards a respectful reading, not only for the author's impressive knowledge of the internet toolbox...but because of his ability to relate such technological gadgetry to the increasing challenges that are being posed to entrenched authoritarianism -- James M Murphy * Times Literary Supplement *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
File size
2,27 MB
ISBN-13
978-0-14-196182-8 (9780141961828)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
04/2012
Penguin Books Ltd
€14.00
Article not available at the moment
Person
Evgeny Morozov is a contributing editor to Foreign Policy and runs the magazine's influential and widely-quoted 'Net Effect' blog about the Internet's impact on global politics (neteffect.foreignpolicy.com). Morozov is currently a Yahoo! fellow at the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University. Prior to his appointment to Georgetown, he was a fellow at George Soros's Open Society Institute, where he remains on the board of the Information Program. Before moving to the US, Morozov was based in Berlin and Prague, where he was Director of New Media at Transitions Online, a media development NGO active in 29 countries of the former Soviet bloc.
