Media & communications - openDemocracy (Page 152)

Call centre welfare: Coalition plans to dehumanise the state

As the legislation for Universal Credit goes through Parliament, Charlotte Pell argues that human beings, not call centre scripts and online forms, should deal with the millions of Britons set to claim the new benefit

By Charlotte Pell

/ 8 Apr 2011

Liberation technology: dreams, politics, history

The doctrinal commitment to new cyber and social technologies as a means of solving political problems needs to learn from the past and take a more realistic view, says Armine Ishkanian.

By Armine Ishkanian

/ 5 Apr 2011

In defence of Black Bloc

The state, with its monopoly on the legitimate use of violence, can afford to be idiotic in its analysis of the black bloc, denouncing their actions on March 26th as "mindless violence". But the clamouring within the anti-cuts movement to disown this element violates the basic principles of solida

By Neirin Llafar

/ 5 Apr 2011

UK Uncut, responsibility and the logic of networked activism

Much of the critical rhetoric attacking UKUncut's choice not to denounce the violence on March 26th fails to understand the organisational make-up of the UKUncut network and, more generally, of the national anti-cuts movement.

By Aaron Bastani

/ 1 Apr 2011

Why UK Uncut can and should denounce the violence

UK Uncut must condemn the violence on Saturday 26 March. The network has formed around common views - such as an opposition to tax avoidance. Why can't one of these views be a condemnation of violence? If not, UK Uncut will dwindle into marginality.

By Stuart White

/ 1 Apr 2011

Libya: time to decide

Providing air support and arms for the Libyan opposition is necessary if stalemate and partition are to be avoided, argues Ranj Alaaldin

By Ranj Alaaldin

/ 31 Mar 2011

UK Uncut cannot denounce the violence on 26 March

Those most heavily involved in UKUncut are under enormous pressure to denounce the violence on behalf of the rest of us in the network. Without doing so, it is hard to see how UKUncut will regain lost support from the general public and the mainstream media. But this cannot be the answer.

By Niki Seth-Smith

/ 29 Mar 2011

The freedom cloud

The tools that help Arab democracy protesters also extend the reach of three United States corporations. The power of Facebook, Google, and Twitter represents an appropriation of the hacker-utopian ideals of the early internet, says Becky Hogge. The challenge to those who still uphold these ideals

By Becky Hogge

/ 29 Mar 2011

Mightiest for the mightiest: “The Net Delusion”

In “The Net Delusion”, Evgeny Morozov vents frustration at what he calls “cyber utopianism” in Western foreign policy. Far from being a tool to free the weak, Morozov argues, oppressive regimes are now the expert manipulators of Web 2.0. He’s certainly got a point, says John Lloyd, but he is also

By John Lloyd

/ 25 Mar 2011

Who decides what we access on the Internet?: Web blocking and its dangers

Another March, another web blocking proposal. The Guardian reported last week that Ed Vaizey MP, one of the ministers in charge of the UK's internet policy, has been hosting discussions between Internet Service Providers and the music and film industries about a 'voluntary code' to facilitate the

By Peter Bradwell

/ 25 Mar 2011

Digital activism and the anti-cuts agenda

Outrage at the Coalition's austerity programme and the capacity for digital networked communications have given rise to a new activism. The common anti-cuts agenda is clear, but will new forms of communication, deliberation and organisation give rise to more radical objectives?

By Joss Hands

/ 24 Mar 2011

The Networked Society: OurKingdom joins the conversation

The world is only now waking up to the radically transformative potential of the network. Our ability to reflect and evaluate on such 'revolutionary' change is struggling to keep pace with the technology itself. The OurKingdom debate on the networked society aims to have a place at the forefront o

By Niki Seth-Smith and Aaron Bastani

/ 24 Mar 2011