[Reader-list] The Internet’s Unholy Marriage to Capitalism

[A. Mani]

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The Internet’s Unholy Marriage to Capitalism [1 Update]

 Topic: The Internet’s Unholy Marriage to Capitalism

"Guru गुरु" <Guru at ITforChange.net> Oct 05 11:22AM +0530 ^

"Communication is more than an ordinary market. Indeed, it is properly
not a market at all. It is more like air or water—a form of public
wealth, a commons. When Aristotle said that human beings were “/social
animals/,” he might just as well have said that we are /communicative
animals/. We know that the human brain coevolved with language (a social
characteristic).63
<http://monthlyreview.org/2011/03/01/the-internets-unholy-marriage-to-capitalism#en63>
The development of social relations and democratic forms, as well as
science, culture, etc., are all communicative. The rise of the Internet
as a form of free communication, seemingly without limits, thus raises
the prospect of new realms of human sociability and enhanced democratic
possibilities. Yet, rather than a means of expanding human sociability,
the Internet is being turned into the opposite: a new means of
alienation. There is nothing natural in this process; at bottom it
remains a social choice.

The moral of the story is clear. People in the United States and
worldwide must redouble their efforts to address the paradox of the
Internet at all levels of the analysis presented herein. The outcome is
far from certain, and the issues are still very much in play. A global
network of resistance is both necessary and feasible. Indeed, in view of
the nature of the Internet and the stakes involved, it seems fair to say
that these issues will only become more encompassing in coming years.
How this battle plays out will go a long way toward determining our
future as social animals"


http://monthlyreview.org/2011/03/01/the-internets-unholy-marriage-to-capitalism
(attached) has a thought provoking article on the rapid and rampant
privatisation of the 'digital public'.
The article covers many different aspects of our polity/society/economy.
We see the ramifications in the education system, with large technology
vendors keen to promote their proprietary content and software as
curricular resources for schools, where teachers and the education
system can become life-long consumers, locked-into their products.
Whereas ICTs can be used for the opposite- of strengthening the public
system by having teachers as co-creators of teaching-learning resources,
collaborating (physically and virtually) with one another and with
teacher educators. For our work over the last year in this space, visit
http://itforchange.net/sites/default/files/ITfC/page/AnnualReport_2011/1.exploring_techno-pedagogy.pdf
available on http://itforchange.net/RightToKnow

regards,
Guru
_____________________________________________________________________





Best

A. Mani


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A. Mani
CU, ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS
http://www.logicamani.co.cc