The Political Demographics of Cyberspace (page 2 of 2)
By Michel Bauwens

Much smaller, at this stage mainly an intellectual exercise in academic circles, is the cyberfeminist movement. Traditional feminism states that, despite the claims of gender being less important in cyberspace, the Internet is still a sexist environment. Cyberfeminism provides a more optimistic reading and is fairly typical of the enthusiasms generated by the Internet. According to cyberfeminists like Sadie Plant, the Internet is a quintessentially female technology. First, the values of the Internet, like the free exchange of information, the lessening of hierarchy, and the nurturing aspects of virtual communities, are female values. Second, networking technology is a final proof that the technology is out of control' and that the traditional male quest of control' can no longer operate. Hence, she claims that the Internet represents nothing less than the death of patriarchy. A related strain of thought is represented by Donna Harraway, who in her Cyborg Manifesto argues that women should technology.

Rather than wanting to becoming goddesses (as New Age feminism has suggested) they should aim at becoming cyborgs, half machine, half human. In any case, it does indeed seem that the Internet will be a powerful factor in reconciling women and technology.

Equally small, but very significant is the Extropian movement. While it has only a few hundred members, it connects luminaries like Hans Moravec, the robot historian, and Erik Drexler, the nanotechnologist, and it has an extraordinary cultural influence on magazines like Wired and Mondo.

They are partly responsible for the justification of the reigning optimism on the Internet. Extropians are against the limits imposed by nature and are convinced that technology is the means by which humans can free themselves from natural constraints. Hence, they foster research in cryogenics (Marvin Minsky, the AI pioneer says: if you die it's because you deserve it'), life extension, and believe we are entering the age of the space-bound post-human. Extropians are convinced, and here we totally agree with them, that the Internet is a laboratory for the social practices of the future. What's important here is to realize that the Internet is freeing humans from the constraints of geography, and that we sho political practices reflecting this fact. Radical groups like the Extropians force all the rest of us to squarely face the metaphysical underpinnings of our technological quest, and its occult meaning which is nothing else than that humanity endeavors to acquire god-like powers. As Steward Brand (creator of the legendary Whole Earth Catalog) once said, we are as gods, so we might as well be good at it.'

What is the message of netizens (i.e., the users of cyberspace/citizens of the Internet) toward these forces? Toward the establishment we should say, thanks, but no thanks,' meaning that while we support a better infrastructure, it should not only go to business networks and interactive TV experiments, but also to support the existing Internet network. It is the only medium with a radical democratic and innovative business potential. In fact, the Internet is an incredibly powerful business tool that will guarantee the transition to the of the information society.

To the information highway critics of the democratic left, I believe we should say: don't try to stop a technological juggernaut. If you're not part of the steamroller, you're part of the road. Realize how the Internet and the new networks can actually create a type of society where democratic ideals can actually be implemented. Let's make sure that the poor and the disadvantaged can make use of the new opportunities. Let's defend the hard-won democratic rights in the new electronic environments, support the establishment of freenets and digital cities, and the providing of Internet access for all. Above all, use the networks to your own advantage, to spread ideas worth hearing, and stimulate the needed debate. So far, the response of traditional political forces, at least in Europe, has been woefully inadequate.

We'll conclude with this call to netizens:

The Second Wave created the bourgeois citizen (aided and abetted by the labor movement) which became the motor of social change and political democratization. The Third Wave creates the netizen, the inhabitant of cyberspace, who engages in the sharing of knowledge. Just as the citizen was the motor of bourgeois democracy, netizens will be the vanguard force of electronic democratization.

Principles like open access, universal service, freedom of speech and the protection of privacy are characteristic of this agenda. So the responsibility of the first netizens is clear: it is our task first of all to educate our citizens, government and business people to the advantages and importance of the Internet. Second, to help them in their efforts to join these networks. Third, to make the political world conversant with the new issues involved in the emergence of cyberspace. Most importantly, the realization has to sink in that the old laws do not necessarily apply, and that new creative solutionsshould be sought.