The rise of the electronic republic, with its perhaps inevitable tendency to respond quickly to every ripple of public opinion, will undercut – if not fundamentally alter – some of our most cherish Constitutional protections against the the potential excesses of majority impulses. These protections were put in place by the Founders, who were as wary of pure democracy as they were fearful of governmental authority … As the executive and legislative branches of government become more entwined with public opinion and popular demand, only the courts may be left to stand as an effective bastion against the tyranny of the majority. The judiciary, the branch of government that was designed to be the least responsive to popular passion, will bear an increasingly difficult and heavy burden to protect individual rights against the popular assault.
Predictor: Grossman, Lawrence K.
Prediction, in context:In his 1995 book “The Electronic Republic,” Lawrence Grossman writes: ”The rise of the electronic republic, with its perhaps inevitable tendency to respond quickly to every ripple of public opinion, will undercut – if not fundamentally alter – some of our most cherish Constitutional protections against the the potential excesses of majority impulses. These protections were put in place by the Founders, who were as wary of pure democracy as they were fearful of governmental authority. The Constitution sought not only to protect the people against the overreaching power of government but also to protect the new nation against the overreaching demands of ordinary people, especially the poor. Telecommunications technology has reduced the traditional barriers to time and distance. In the same way it can also reduce the traditional Constitutional barriers of checks and balances and separation of powers, which James Madison thought the very size and complexity of the new nation would help to preserve. ‘Extend the sphere, and you take in a greater variety of parties and interests; you make it less probable that a majority of the whole will have a common motive to invade the rights of other citizens.’ However, as distances disappear and telecommunications shrink the sphere, and as the executive and legislative branches of government become more entwined with public opinion and popular demand, only the courts may be left to stand as an effective bastion against the tyranny of the majority. The judiciary, the branch of government that was designed to be the least responsive to popular passion, will bear an increasingly difficult and heavy burden to protect individual rights against the popular assault.”
Biography:Lawrence Grossman wrote the book “The Electronic Republic: Reshaping Democracy in an Information Age” (Penguin, 1995). The former executive at NBC and PBS urged people to realize that digital communications had altered how things can and should be done. (Author/Editor/Journalist.)
Date of prediction: January 1, 1995
Topic of prediction: Global Relationships/Politics
Subtopic: Democracy
Name of publication: The Electronic Republic (book)
Title, headline, chapter name: Introduction
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
Pages 4, 5
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Guarino, Jennifer Anne