The fundamental thing [the Net does] is to overcome the advantages of economies of scale … so the big guys don’t rule … [Organized political parties won’t be needed if open networks] enable people to organize ad hoc, rather than get stuck in some rigid group.
Predictor: Dyson, Esther
Prediction, in context:In a 1994 article for Wired magazine, Joshua Quittner writes about the key members of the cyberspace lobbying group the Electronic Frontier Foundation, including Esther Dyson. Quittner writes: ”[The Electronic Frontier Foundation’s] bottom-up approach has led some of the people … to talk about building a Net political party, founded on the premise that centralized authority is inefficient and archaic. Centralized government, they say, will be made obsolete by the push-button, interactive democracy that an Open Platform could create. ‘The fundamental thing (the Net does) is to overcome the advantages of economies of scale … so the big guys don’t rule,’ says Esther Dyson, a board member, who says organized political parties won’t be needed if open networks ‘enable people to organize ad hoc, rather than get stuck in some rigid group.'”
Biography:Esther Dyson was founding editor of Release 1.0 and a consultant and expert on computing and high-tech applications. She served as the president of EDventure Holdings. She founded the PC Forum, an annual conference and industry event. She had the highest profile of the women of technology in the 1990s. (Futurist/Consultant.)
Date of prediction: January 1, 1994
Topic of prediction: Global Relationships/Politics
Subtopic: Democracy
Name of publication: Wired
Title, headline, chapter name: The Merry Pranksters Go to Washington: They Helped Steve Jackson Games Hand the Feds a Stinging Defeat in Court. Their ‘Open Platform’ Proposal is the Heart of Gore’s Infobahn Policy. They Lead the Coalition Fighting the Clipper Chip. In Short, the Electronic Frontier Foundation is the Preeminent Defender of Our Civil Rights in Cyberspace. But Just Who Are These People?
Quote Type: Partial quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/2.06/eff_pr.html
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney