The prediction, in brief:

I think we need to question all the things that we take for granted. We need to look at what it is we are trying to accomplish with democractic government and see that perhaps we can accomplish those without an intermediary. I think we’re seeing that there are other ways of resolving differences in society, other ways of arriving at consensus, other ways of affecting and shaping public opinion, than holding a debate in Parliament at Westminster, or holding a debate in Congress.

Predictor: Rossetto, Louis

Prediction, in context:

In an online cyberculture site, a portion of the remarks made by Wired magazine publisher Louis Rossetto to Tracey McLeod on “Late Show” are directly quoted:”I think that government has been an imperfect instrument in trying to incarnate the will of the people, of society. What we’re talking about now is that will working itself out directly, without the intermediaries of a bunch of politicians and bureaucrats. My sense is that the Net is developing as a place where new forms of community are evolving. That the social grouping on the Net is powerful and real, and people who are not on the Net perhaps don’t understand its strength. I think we’re going through a revolutionary time and I think we need to question all the things that we take for granted. We need to look at what it is we are trying to accomplish with democractic government and see that perhaps we can accomplish those without an intermediary. I think we’re seeing that there are other ways of resolving differences in society, other ways of arriving at consensus, other ways of affecting and shaping public opinion, than holding a debate in Parliament at Westminster, or holding a debate in Congress.”

Biography:

Louis Rossetto was the CEO and co-founder of Wired Ventures Inc. in the 1990s. He was the founding publisher and editor of Wired magazine and its online spin-off, HotWired. Wired magazine incredibly influential from its beginning in 1993, illuminating for a large audience, the most important issues of the Internet age. (Entrepreneur/Business Leader.)

Date of prediction: January 1, 1995

Topic of prediction: Global Relationships/Politics

Subtopic: Democracy

Name of publication: Electric Writing

Title, headline, chapter name: The Wired Philosophy of Cyberspace

Quote Type: Direct quote

Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://jimmy.qmuc.ac.uk/jisew/ewv21n5/DEFAULT.HTM

This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Severs, Timothy B.