The dictatorship of speed at the limit will increasingly clash with representative democracy. When some essayists address us in terms of “cyber-democracy,” of virtual democracy; when others state that “opinion democracy” is going to replace “political parties democracy,” one cannot fail to see anything but this loss of orientation in matters political … The advent of the age of viewer-counts and opinion polls reigning supreme will necessarily be advanced by this type of technology.
Predictor: Virilio, Paul
Prediction, in context:In a 1995 article in Le Monde Diplomatique, Paul Virilio, the emblematic French theorist of technology and author of “Pure War, Speed and Politics,” and “War and Cinema: the Logistics of Perception,” writes: ”The dictatorship of speed at the limit will increasingly clash with representative democracy. When some essayists address us in terms of ‘cyber-democracy,’ of virtual democracy; when others state that ‘opinion democracy’ is going to replace ‘political parties democracy,’ one cannot fail to see anything but this loss of orientation in matters political, of which the March 1994 ‘media-coup’ by Mr. Silvio Berlusconi was an Italian-style prefiguration. The advent of the age of viewer-counts and opinion polls reigning supreme will necessarily be advanced by this type of technology.”
Biography:Paul Virilio was a French technology theorist and author of “Pure War, Speed and Politics” and “War and Cinema: The Logistics of Perception.” (Research Scientist/Illuminator.)
Date of prediction: August 1, 1995
Topic of prediction: Global Relationships/Politics
Subtopic: Democracy
Name of publication: Le Monde Diplomatique
Title, headline, chapter name: Speed and Information: Cyberspace Alarm!
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://www.ctheory.net/text_file.asp?pick=72
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney