Anarchy and the Internet
"This is what democracy looks like"

California State University, Dominguez Hills
University of Wisconsin, Parkside
Latest update: April 19, 2000
Faculty on the Site.

The material for this Pass or Prepared? can be found in

Anarchy and the Internet by Gordon Graham, and "This is what democracy looks like" by Amber Gallup, and Journal of Online Law, Anarchy, State, and the Internet by David G. Post, one of the references given by Lawrence Lessig in Code, pp. 201 and ff.

How could we describe anarchy in a positive sense?

• jeanne's response: "In the positive use, the way in which celebrated anarchists such as Proudhon and Kropotkin used it, anarchy is absence of government, and for that reason freedom from the coercive power of the state." (Gordon Graham, Anarchy and the Internet.) That is, anarchy has been seen as a solution when governments have been coercive or when special interests have enjoyed exclusive privileges.

How could we describe anarchy in a negative sense?

• jeanne's response: "The negative and more commonplace use of anarchy also denotes the absense of government, but precisely for that reason, it is thought of as a condition of lawlessness and chaos." (Gordon Graham, Anarchy and the Internet.) That is, those who are able to enjoy some of the privileges are more likely to see anarchy negatively, as providing chaos out of which they may not be able to retain their privileges.

How does Amber Gallup describe anarchy in the positive sense?

• jeanne's response: She speaks of "thousands of people, with no central decision-making hierarchy, pull[ing] off beautifully orchestrated collective actions of civil disobedience." She speaks also of love and caring and learning to communicate and to acknowledge each others' voices.

Post suggests that cyberspace law will be comprised of "rule-sets," and that something akin to market competition will provide control. He speaks of market power, in which firms that has developed a loyal set of customers can raise prices without losing those customers. What does Lessig challenge about this? (Code, pp.210-203)

• jeanne's response: Post bases this theory of the ease of change of "rule-sets" and the ease of movement in cyberspace on his sense that moving in cyberspace from one Internet Service Provider to another is much easier than moving from a house, a neighborhood, a job. Lessig objects that cyberspace in fact presents a much more complex situation, in that leaving a MUD or a cyberspace community you cannot take with you your social capital -- the personality and status you have developed in that community. Thus moving might be in fact more difficult than moving in real space.

  This suggests that governance in cyberspace is going to present enormous challenges as we learn to understand virtual space.

Back to Pass or Prepared? on Anarchy

---

---