trthics, Information and Technology READIIVGS Richard N. Stichler and Robert Hauptman, Editors  AccessDenied: Information Policy and the Limits of Liberalism Grant H. Kester Iri 1968 thc l].ited States militerv's Defense Advancccl Ilesearch project (DAltPA) established thc ."vorld'sfi..t cu,.-rputer-bascde-n.rail systcn.r.In the intervcning two and a half clecacles the cornputer nctwork hrrsemergcd :rsone of the ccntral technological fbrrns of the twenticrh ccnrury. Fr.,rn 1o.,ri c rniril systems to a plannccl naticxrwide fiber-optic "superhighwty, cornpurer net_ works hirvc proliferated to intcrc.nnect busincsscs, [Iovcrnrnerts, and indi- viduals irround the world. Estimatcs of the worldwide markct for the interac- tivc infcrrmation industry run as high as $3.5 trillion by the ycirr 2000.r As the sitc of such intense economic development it is not surprising that the corn- puter network has also bcen subject to a proccss of ir-rtcr.rsivc ideological stag- ing. A set of rnythol.gies circulates:rround the utopian or dystopian irnplicri- tions of thc computcr network, ranging from the rnalevolent, intcr-connectccl def-cnsecomputers of 'ferminator (1984) byJames cameron, to the visions of zrrtistsfor whom computcr networks herald "our emergcncreir-rtothe ncw worlcl of telernatic culture ... Ir world] that can link us with srrpcrconnecrivity,rnir.rd to rnincl, into a new planctary community."z 'rhese mythologics arc, by and large based ,n an existing narrative frame- work that {irst erncrged during the inclustrial rcvolution. Withil this frarne- work new technol.gies or technol.gical fbrms, (the mechanical l.om, the asscrnbly 1inc, elcctricity, the telcphone, ctc.), are cclebrated-or fcarecl-fbr the ir capacitv to gener2rtcunlirnited power, rnobility, or productivity, a'd to trrrrsccnd thc boundaries of existing fbrms of social expcri.n.. ,,r..j orgxnl- zrrti<rrr.Thc shur ntu,qniturlt o.f'spced, distunte, uni .;ca/eopened up by thcse tech- rt olt tgicslot'rttcsou r cx pc r ic t r c c of t lr c nr wit hir r t hc t l o r i r l i n o 1 'w h a t L c 9 N {e r x (K ,.t,r) )O, describes as the "technological sublirne"; their dimensions or limitations are the American liberal tradition. It is also significant because of the curious rela- I i t c ra lly bevon.l ou r imag ine t ion. ' tionship these first two havc wirh techn.logy.A technological fbrm, in this In his essay,"The Mythos of the Elcctronic Revolution,"James W. Carey case, electricity, takes on a metaphoric relationship to systems of economic examines the utopian myths that surrounded technologies such as stcam powcr value and to a model of democratic will formation. and the printing prcss in nineteenth century America. Carey cites a contem- Electricity doesn't simply function as a technology in the service of par- pofary addresson the impact of thc industrial revolution that describesstealn ticular forms of production, rather, the physical process on which electricity as a "great motive agcnt" that will ". . .bring everything into harmonious coop operates becomes a paradigm for a form of social organization. Electricity is eration ... triumphin!! over spaceand time ... to subduc prejudice and to unite simultaneously a r.rormativemodel for democratic community and the tech- cvery part of our land in rapid and friendly communication...."4 I Ie then charts nological agent that will bring this community about. This paradigmatic func- the transition that took place in the latc ninetecnth centr.rry frorn the celebra- tion is absolutely central to understanding the way in which r.rewtechnolo- tion of the "mcchanical sublime" of thc industrial revoiution, cmbodicd in thc gies are rhetorically framed. Networks, whethcr they are the rail transportarion steam power, to the nascent "clectrical sublimc." While mechanization had links made possible by stcam tcchnology, the high-tcnrio,-r p,,*ci lines of prornised abundance and freedom it had resulted in overcrowded cities, indus- rural electrification, or the data matri-x of computer telccommunications, have trial pollution, social fiagmentation, and a growing division of labor. Electric- traditionally made the same interconnected promises of niaterial abundance, ity, however, would be differe nt, it would: dcccntralization, and den-rocraticcomrnunitv. The re is a striking similarity in the claims advanced fbr electricity around ... give us univcrs:tllyhigh standardsof living, new rtnd amrtsingkinds of the turn of the cent*ry, and the rhetoric surrounding computcr networks ],,,bi,leisurc,lrecdom lntlan end to drr.rdgcrv, c(rrlgcsti'l],nttisc,tmoke, and filth. It can ovcrcomethc objections:rncl problcrnsof a sterm civiliz.ation.It today. we might designate this, following carey, as the traniition from the can brir-rgback n-riinyof the mourned virtucs of thc handicrati agc withotrt the "electrical sublime" to the "informational sublime." Each technoloeical form human tiril anclcurscof impending scarcitytl.ratmirrkcdthe age.s prtxnises to climinate the "drudgery" of conventional manual labor, tiansform- ing us all into "knowledge workers"s; each will replace the pollution of con- In short, "Electricity promised ... the samc freedom, decentralization, eco ventional manufacturing with clcan, "high tcchnology" industries, and most logical hirrmony, and democrrrtic cr)mmunity that h:rd hitherto been guaran- importantly, each will encouragc a decentralized, democratic and community teed but left undelivered by mcchaniz2rtion."('Carey goes on to cite a fasci- ethos in American culture. under the influence of computer technology the nating passagc from a late nineteenth centurl'economic trcrtise trtled 7'he fragmented anomie of late capitalist society will be transf.rmed into thc vital, unity of Laxa, in which clectrical power functions as the metaphorical embod- dcrnocratic polls of the fiber optic nctwork. F-rom Ross perot's televised "town i m c n t oI dcm ,rt r:ttie ,trga niz' . t t ion. hall" meetings to Roy Ascott's "telematic embrace," the computer network has 'fhc actual rclirtionof e:rchancleverv membcr of :r community as giver and been widely posited as the very ernbodiment of a liberal puhlic sphcre.e recoivcr,tcacher:rn<llearncr,produccrend consumeris positivclncl tlcg;ttive The speculative culture that surrounds network technology today, partic- by rurns and relativelyfsicl to cvery dillerenccoffunction:rncl ftrrcein his ularly in what rnight be identified as its "alternative" guises-in the pages .f pub- :rssoci:rtes, thc wholc massconstitutinga gre:rtclectricbattery to which cach individual contributcshis prir ofplatcs. Perflct circulationbcing estrblished Iications such as Mondo 2000 md wired,in the work of the Electronic Fron- ASa consccluencc of perfcct developmentof all indiviciualitics,the ectrnumic tier Foundation (trFF), or the writings ofJaron Lanier, I{oward Rheingold, and fcrrccflows srnoothh,'through cvcry nlcmber of the bodv politic' general bascd on a particular conjunction of the infbrmational sublime and happincssand prosperitv,improvedmcntal lnd morirl action fcrlkrwingin its 'thers-is thc discourseof the modernist avant-garde.Their pronr)uncemenrs center around trrun.. . .' the liberatory potentiai of the network, and by implication, of the compurer- The "cconornic lirrce " flows through the "great electric batterv" of soci- skilled artist/rebel. Within this subculture, nerwork technologies are posited as ety, bringing about the "perfect development" of cach individual, cven rts it representing a profound break with cxisting forms of cornmunity, communica- promotes thc health of the larger body politic. E,let:tricity hcre functions as a tio', and political organizatior.r.These clairns are, by and large, oriented toward kind of Adarn Smith-ian "invisiblc hand" providing a providential coordina preclicting the future possibilities of network technology. But network systems tion of the otherwise disparate and self:'interested2lctionsof indivitluai citi lrevc been in place, both r:.mmercially and in the govcrnment and the military, zens. This statement is emblcmatic of the close rclationship betwccn licc firr s.me tirne, and any subsequcnt developments in network culture will m2 r rkct ideolo gie s a ncl no tions of indiv it lualis r n: r nc l t lc r - n o c r r t t i cf i c c , l , r r r r i r r irrevitlbly bc infirrrncclby thc institutior.rsinto which thcywill bc inscrterl. )0S l' . tlri,. ;rrrrlI lrt l trlt t trtl ) o ,)  Here I will investigatc thc perftrrmzrnccof :rn existing network system. information policy should be more specifically undcrstood as iil debirte about My goal is to analyze the ways in which network technology actually func- thc rclative authority held bv thc President, Congress,and the courts in deter- tions rvithin porii.rrlu, institutional location: the executive branch of the mining, dcfending, or speaking on behalf of the "public good." " Government. This network has been the site of a particularlv intcresting lcgal Within this debate the President has traditionally relied on the doctrinc confrontation that bears dircctly on the fr-rnction of network technoklgy withirr of executive privilcgc to assertfinal authority in dctcrmining the public good. thc libcral state.I will discussthe bure aucratic and ideological context of f'ed- The doctrinc of executive privilege derivcs primarily from concerns that the it. er2rlinfbrmation policy and thc impact th2rtcomputcr systemshavc had or.r President, in his capacity as commander of thc armcd fbrces, must be free to I will conclude b1,looking :rt the rhetoric th:rt surrounds network tcchnology detennine the "best intcrcsts" of the state due to his privilcged accessto the Inter- more generaliy in rclation to the sub-culturc tl-rathts grown up irround dctails of complex rnilitary and diplomatic negotiations and rclationships. net. Prior to the twer.rticth ccntury this doctrine was applicd in a fairly unsyste- matic fashion, irnd debatcs ovcr l{ovcrnrncnt inf{)rmirtion wcrc rclatively spo- radic. In fact, it wasn't until thc U.S. military was exposed to thc protocols ExecutiqLePriailege ond the h-reedomoJ-InJormntionAct governir.rg inftrrrnation secrecy crnploycd by the French ancl British :rrmics during World Wrr I that it began to employ an organized system for classi- In thc fall oli|792 Gcneral Arthur Sirir.rtClaire, actirrg r.rnderorders fiom fying docurnents.rr Prcsidcnt Gcorgc Washington, ied ir military expeclition into Native Amer- 'lhe rcal cxpansion in classification systems irnd governmeut secrccv in ican territorv inwhat is now northwestcfn C)hio. On the rnorning of Novem- the U.S. occurrcd during World War II, zrsthc LI.S. in conjunction with its ber ,1 his expeclition wirs '.rttackeclby a "srnall but dctennined Indian band" n1liesdeveloped a sophisticated apparatus for collccting, transmitting, ana- ancl over halI-oftthe company killed.r0 When word of the attack reached Cor.t lyzing and trrchiving military and political "intelligencc" on a global scale.r{ gress a committce was formed to investigatc thc ir-rcider.rt, in which WashinS- After the war this control became increasingly ccntralized and coordinated t.rn haci effcctivcly cngagcd in :rn act of l,vitr without Congrcssional consent' undcr the app2rrentthrcat poscd by the USSI{ and "world cotnmunism."r' The colrmitree reclucsterlthe relevant rccorc]sand papers of wrshington and 'l'hc cstablishrnent of the Ccr.rtral Intelligence Agency (CIA) and thc National Sccretary of war Hcnry Kr-rox.l)uring tn initial mceting washington sug- Sccurity Agcncy (NSA) aiong with thc close relationship between high-tcch- of so gcsted tirat inclucled 2unon!! thesc d.cun'rents "there might be papers noiogy wcapons research and "nrtional security" (President Truman rcfcrrecl ,".r"t o nrlture that they ought not to be given uP."ltAlthough Washineton to the sccrct of the atomic bornb as Amcrica's "sacred trust"),1" led to thc crc tlic matcrial the committce rcquested the incidcnt did, ultimately, s.,rrcr-r.le1- :rtion of a systcm in which everv piece of infrrnnation generated bv key gov- established the principle of "exccutive privilcge" which states that, in rcsPorlse crnment agencics and alliliated private businessesand universities was sub- to requcsts frorn Corrgress,"thc Exccutive ought to colnlnunicate such papcrs .jcct to a complex crlculation of potcntiirl risk. It wrs rn cnvironmcnt in which of as thc public go,rd wii,rl.t pcrmit, rnd ought to refuse thosc, thc disclosrirc it was assumecl that almost any piece of information could, if it f-e1linto thc which would iniurc the public."12 wrong hands, pose a thrcat to America's national security. Thus, post-war Thus wls ii,r-.d the bureaucratic sccne within which debates over f-cd- infcrrmation policy was ultirnatcly inseparabie fiom the largcr attcmpt by thc cral ir-rfirrmationpolicy would unfold lbr the ncxt two ccnturies' Within this Arncrican government to managc Cold War-era global politics. Within this scene the lcgisl:rtivc lncl cxecutivc bmnchcs enllage in a highly ritualized pas scenario any consideration of tl.re"public good" thrt involvecl the lcccss of the c1eilcux of irccusationtnd mortl ccnsure,solicitation, and coy denial over top- Amcrican public to irrfirrrnation cmployetl by or generlted by thc l)rcsident ics ranging fiorn prcsiclcntial appointments to lancl fraud invcstigations to for- ir-r the proccss of governing was ovcrriddcn by the l:rrger external "thrcat" which cigr-,tie"W ,-reg,riiati,)nsto covert nrilitary opcrirtions. The theater itr posed to thc nation by the Soviet Urrion. This gave the doctrine of exccutivc '.rswell as the fcd- this drama plays itself out includcs the floor of Congress privilege an almost irresistible political authority. er..rlcouft system. But what exactly is bcing "perfbrmcd" in confrontrrtions During the late '50s and early '60s the climate of opinion around gov- Tt is the between the llresident and Cor.rgressover the control of information? ernment irrfbrn.rationpolicy begar-rto shift, in part due to the relative dcclinc spectaclc of democracy, and thc tripartitc division of powcr that both sov- of r:rbirl lnti-communism followingJoseph McCartl-ry's loss of credibility in crns ald insures dcrnocratic rulc. I will rcturn to cxlmine this pcrforrllrtrlcc tlrc Arrnv McClrrrthy l-rcarings.It was at this tirnc thzrt the doctrine of exec- g()vcfrltllctlt nrorc cigscly. lior now I simply want to notc ttrlrt tl-rcclcbatc ovcr r r t i v c I r i y i l g g c b c g r r r rt o b c ch r r l l cn g e clb y a co a l i ti o n o f l i b cr a l r n ctn b e r s,>f )I0 l'.t lti, rrrr,l I l tc I rrl l t tl cl ( k r' . , tc r ) ' Congress and groups such as the American Civil Liberties Organization (pre- expression-placing the FOIA clearly within the liberal political canon. decessorto the Arnerican Civil Liberties Union), the American Bar Associ- Cooper €ioeson to argue that the FOIA is "...concerned with assuring the cdpdt- ation, and the American Society of Newspaper Editors.tT One of the most ity oJ-tbecitiz,enry to addressspeclficsubstantite policy issuesand with thc main- outspokcn Congressional critics of government secrecywas Rep. John Moss tcnance of important structural fe atures of thc governing framework such as (D-CA), the chairman of the House Forcign Operations and Gove rnment clections and the arrangement of checks and balances" (emphasis mine).rl Infbrmation Subcommittee. The committee had bcen established by the Cooper's cornment is representativc of the general set of beliefs held by pro- l)cmocratic Congrcss in 1955 to "curb the rampant suppression of govcrn- ponents of the "liberal" position on inforrnation thcory. The paradigmrtic "user" of the FOIA in this view would be an individr,ralcitizen who reoucsts mcnt infbrmation during the E,isenhoweradministration."lB For over a dccade Moss' committee held a series of hearings that finally rcsulted in the draft- governmcnt information in order to "address substantive policy issues,"and ing of the Frcedom of Information Act (I'-OIA), which was signcd into law to bccornc a better-informed votcr. It is thus presumcd that the FOIA func- by a "reluctant" President Lyndon Johnson on July 4,7966.t') Thc I-OIA was tions irs a direct conduit or chennel tbr informrrtion that "flows" frorn the state strengthencd tn\974, in the wakc of Watergtte, in an attempt to bring more to the "citizenry," whose political will then "flows" back to the state in the pressure to bcar on recalcitrant flovernment agencics and in order to make it fbrrn of their voting behavior. Informzrtion here functions as a co€inate of the "economic fbrcc" that circulates withir-r the "battery" of the clcctrical sublime. easier,and faster, fbr rese:rrchcrsto gain accessto records.2') 'fl-re argunrents dcvcloped in support of the FOIA constitute what I In this view the moral cconomy of the FOIA is constituted around a binary would dcscribe as a "liber:rl" position on €iovcrnment infbrmation policy. This iogic in which the shccr fact that "information," in whatever fbrrn it rnight position is based on the classic model of libcral democracy in which the will take, is "flowing" ancl "accessible"constitutcs d progrcssive movcment. The of the people is the ultimatc determinant and lcgitimation of govcrnment po1- flow of ir-rforn-iation in both is taken as a paradigm for a broader cultural icy. This "will" is enacted through the participation of the peoplc in periodic progress towards thc te 1osof ir democratic society. elections in which the majority vote to elcct an irrdividual who will then go The status of the tr'OIA was considerably complicated by thc growirrg on to represent their intcrests in the legislature through thc drafiing of laws usc of computer systems to store federal documcnts. In 1955 (the ycar the and through open debate with other duly electcd representzrtives.There is thus Moss Comrnittee was chartcred) the government had 45 mainframe corn- a signifying relationship betwcen the elected rcpresentativesspccificaily, and putcrs-by 1970 therc were 5277 in use.2aBctween 1980 and 1985, according thc state in general, and the individual citizen on whose behalfthe represcn- to the Olfice of Technology Assessment, the number of personai computers tativcs speak. Within this system, it is argucd, each individual voter must ir.r fcderal agencies went from a few thousand to over 100,000.2sThe rapid have acccss to as much information as is ncccssary to develop irn inftrrrned proliferatior-rof computcr systcrnswrs in p.rrr a response to thc literal flood opinion about the issuesof thc day, and thus bc able to elect the individual of government rccords generated by the cxpansion of the fedcral bure.aucracy who most fully represents that opinion. during the 1960s,which eventually lcd to the passageof thc Federal Prper- Within the liberal model information functions xs the vcritable life blood work Reduction Act in 1980.The transition to computerized data storage sys- of the democratic process.As Harlan Clevcland notes in an cssaywritten on tcms did much to heightcn both the promise and the contradictions of the the twentieth anniversary of the passageof thc FOIA, "fb consider govern- I.-OlA. On a practical lcvel the technical and logistical skills requircd to fi1e ment information policy is not far from considering the essenceof govern- and process trOIA rcquests were complicatcd by the presencc of compute rs. ment itsclf."21The liberal position is conveyed in the Supremc Court's deci- In adclition, the FOIA had no provisions for dealing with docurrents that sion in NLRB versus Robbins Tire and Rubber Co. in which the Court existcd solely in the form of magnetic irnpulscs on tape. Thus, thc cpisten.ro- observcd that logical status of computcr records (a topic of some interest in the PROIiS crse that I will exarninc subsequently) wls unccrtain. ... the basicpurposeof F'OIA is to ensurean infbrrncdcitizenrl',vitll to tlie But more importantly fbr my analysis, the introduction of computer functioning ofa dcrnocraticsociety,necdcclto check againstcorruptionancl tct:hrrology into govcrnment record-kecping marks a paradigmatic inrcrsec- to hold thc govcnrors:rccountablcto the governccl.:2 tion bctwcen the "infbrmational sublime" skctched above and the liberal clis- ('orrrscsurrounding thc FOIA. With thc introduction of computcr technol- In an essayon the relzrtionship between the judicial systcm and the Ir()IA, Phillip Cooper reiateswhat hc calls the "Free F low" theory of infbrtnlti,rn t,r o g y i n t o t h c c x i s t i n g sct o f a r g u m e n ts a b o u t d e m o cr a cy a n d p o l i ti ca l ('n)l)()wcnncnt vie tlrc llOIA, the technological lirrrn of thc network would lrgumcnts ilcveloped by thc Suprcrne Court in sul)port of thc frcctl,rrrr ol ( K c s t c r' ) :i . ll. l l ' . t l r i r ' s :rrrl tl rt l trl cn ttl -l I  within thc mcdia or the "accesscommunity," and then into books, news ',uti- seem to have fountl its ideal bureaucratic setting"I'he individual users of the cles,and investigativc projccts that will, evcntualllr,rcach the public, or at least FOIA are trirnsformed into a democratic collcctivc via their pirrticiPation ir-I that segment of thc public that gains ?rcccssto thc book, ncwspapcr, journal, the "interactive" rnechanism of reprcsent;rtivegovefnmellt. f'he existerrt:eof computer systems in government record-keeping prornised- to provide an or television show ir-rquestion. ln n-rostliOlA scenarios the rnediating role of ,r.pi....1.,licd levcl of'rcc,ess to the workings of the state, and to profoundly thc press is elided. The niedia or the individuirl researcher is made equivalent thc balance of infcrrmation powef between the state and thc citizen-'fhe with the public, and the sirnple fact that govcrnment infbrm'ation is aeccssi- "ltc, ble to the media is presumed to be tantamount to that infirrrnation reaching introduction ofcomputers Presagcd a new cfa ofgovcrntncnt accountahility' "thc public," and satisfying the requirement for public deliberation of "sub- and the cnd of "official secrccy."This combination of telccommunicrrtions stantivc issucs" that is at the basis of de rnocrirtic systems of government. technologies and thc rhctoric of"open government" plaVed a central role in T'hus, Suprcmc CourtJustice Powell hrs defined the presssimply l.s"thenteans the last jresidential election, with candidatcs Rill Clinton and Al Gorc pre- by which the people receive that free flow of infbrmation and ideas essential senting ih.r-r-rr"1.,.,as comrnitted to the "on-line" accessibility of the goverrl- ment to the American PcoPle. to intcliigcnt sclfgovernrnent (ernpl-rasismine)."]0 IIere the press is cirst as r ,,Jree with wh:rt carl Schrnitt, ir.r his c:lassit: neutral carricr of infbrrnation, rathcr tl-rana.lbrm of institutional "mcdiation" Tlrc fou:" modcl correlates "metaphys- that exerts its own influencc and discrction on thc matcrial it convcys. stvdv,'I'he Crisis of Parliatnentor! Democrary7923),describcs rs the "...thc truth can Ar.rothcr lcvc1 of mcdiation in the clissemination of federrl informirtion icll .systern"or liberalism, which is based on the bclief thrrt comPctiti()n will is introduced by thc lcgal/logistical cornplcxity of thc I'OIA proccdr.rrcsthcm bc found through an unrestraincd clash oltopinion, zrnd the iiberalism is based selves.The processof writing ancl filins an FOIA rcqucst rcquircs thc burcau- producc harmony.":" According to Schmitt, thc systcm of L,-rt*o discr.rrsive$tfuctures. Thc first is thc principlc of a frec:rnd open dis- cratic skill, not to mentir)n tilnc, ncccssrrryt() negotiate with the various ferl- cussion among political equ2rlsthat will result ir.rthe formation of a nrtural eral agencies involved, to correlate document sets,f<rrmulate serrrchparaineters, strbmit search recluests,rrnd even firor.lnt court cllscs in thc cvent of refr"rsalsto consensus.'fhis consensusrcprescnts the highest "truth" ofthe liberal systcrn: "What r,vasto be sccured through the balancc guarante cd by openness irnd dis- disckrse.Thus, l cadre of accessspecialists and acccssactivists has emergcd, cussion was nothing less tiran truth irnd justice itsclf."2; Neccssary to the for- primarily within the academic,journrlistic, and legai professions-writers rrcl rcscarchcrswho specialize in working with materials collected through F-OIA rnation of a consensusis irn opcnncss in the conduct of govcrnmcntal affairs' requests.It is largcly through the work of the se individLrals that documcnts Schmitt traces the crnergence of openncss as an "absolute" political value to rei Pub/icae' in thc l6th and 17th cen rclcascd undcr thc F-C)IA rnake their way into the sphere of public debate. At the debatc over statc secrets or Ar(d7111 the s:rme time, within thc govcrnmcnt, thc process of rcsponclirrgto I'OIA turies: "Thc postulatc of openncss finds its spccific oPPonent irr thc idea that requests has spawned an entire civil servicc spccialization around thc tigurc Arcana belong to every kind of politics, political-technical secrets.... Open- of the "irccessprofessional" (the 'American Society of Acce ss Prof'essionals" nessbecomes an 2rbsolutevalue, although at first it was only 1 Practic2rlmeans was formed in 1980) who rcvicws FC)IA rcqucsts, detcrlnincs what m:rtcrial to combat the bureaucratic,specialist technical secretPolitics of-absolutisrn'"2s "competition," according c'.rnbe released,devekrps arliuments for witl-rholdir.rgothcr matcrials, ctc.rl f'he second postulate is thc "divisit)n of powels," I In their essay"lnformation Poverty and Political lncquality: Citizenship to Schmitt, 'from which thc truth will emerge" irt thc "division or balancc of in the Age of Pri'"'atized Communications," sociologists Graharn Murdock difi-crent statc activities and institr,rtions."2"We find each of these postulates effectively expressed in the debates over Govcfnlne nt inforrnation policy'. The irr-rdPcter Golding identifl' three "relations" between citizenship and niodes of communication. The first relation recluires"ir.ccess to ... information ... that libe rll state is merlnt to be the expression of 2rgcneral social will ftrrmed via will cnable f people ] to knor,v what their rights :rre in other spheres." The sec- discussion 2rnddebate 2lmong equal subjccts. It is protccted frorn undue bias olld statcs that pcoplc "must have accessto the bro:rdest possible rlnge of through a birlance of ;rowcrs mechanism in which the legislative,.iutlicill' ar-rd functions are scParated.'I'hus the FOIA is primarily a prodttct of irrfirrmation ... on 2lrcasthat involve politicnl choices, irnd they must be able "*..,,tir," to usc commnnications facilitics in ordcr to registcr criticisrn, n"robilizeoppo- the leverage exerted by the judicial and lcgislative branches rrgrinst the threat sition, und proposc alternative courses of action." And the third contends of an exccssive influcncc wielded by the executive brrnch' The claims of proponents notwithstanding, tl-rei)ilth trlkcrr b,v irrfirrrna tlrirt pcoplc "must bc ablc to recogniz.ethemselves ilnd their aspirirtions in the r,rrrgc of rclrcscntati()ns offcrccl within thc ccntrnl conimunicntions scctors tion rcquested tl"rrough thc FOIA does not, by arrd l:Lrgc,Hpw tlir.cttlr ll"rn , r n t l l r c r r b l c t o c o n t r i b u t c to r l cvcl o p i n g th o sc r cp r cscl r tl t.ti o r ts."tl th c s t a t c t6 t f ie citizcn, b ut r:tt l' r c rlior n t hc s t llt t ] ,t hr ( ) t lHltv r t ti o t t s r t t t 't 'l l r t r i s t t t s { k , , , t rr) )l  It is significant that the authors recognize thc conceptual distinction ... thc frrrmationofpublic opinion in the strict senseis not efiectivelysccurcd betwecn the sheer fact of access,and thc capacity to eff-cctivelyengalie in polit- by the mere fact that anyonc can fiecly uttcr his opinion and put out a news- ical decision-making in their second relation. However, they never clarify paper.1'he Public is no longer composedof personsfirrmally and materially on an equalfboting.r(' exactly how accessto information might be transformed into the ability of the individual to "mobilize opposition," or "propose alternative courscs of Computer technokrgy proniised to regulate the cxplosion of government infor- action." Nor do we know what if any effect thesc proposed courscs of action mation and to provide n)ore ellicient and cffcctivc forms of data storalle, orga- or criticisms might have. This seems to me to bc a crucial qucstion. Simply nization, and retrieval. Yet the computcr also cxcrted its own peculiar logic; having accessto an infbrrnation network, or evcn possessing thc ability to the presence ofa more accessiblerccord-kccping technology led to the gen- direct communication back to the government, while significant, is ultirriately eration of more records, and a necessaryexpansion in the definition of what not sufficient if the existing systcm of governmcnt is unaccountable to, or, in constitutcs a record in the first place. There was I growing disjunction bctween Jtirgen Habermas's words, "immunized" liom popular will. As Haberrnas the record-keeping capacitiesofthe computer, and thc existing protocols gov- argues in Legitimatian Crisis (7973), one of the central components of mod- erning the status and disposition of dirta generated by governrnent employ- ern liberal government is thc process whereby decisions governing the sys- ccs. The rough drafts and inter-agency memos that might have previously tematic oricntation of the state in relirtion to dominant econornic interests arc wound up in the wastebasketwere now saved on hard-drives and mainfranres. effectively partitioncd ofi- from the elcctoral process. The prolifcration of personal computers led to the expansion of a new terrain Democracyno longerhasthc goal of rrtion:rlizingruthoritv through thc pr1- of federal record*kecping, at the micro-level of the individual government ticip:rtionof citizensin discursiveprocesses of will-form:rtion.It is intendtd, worker's computerized notes, appointmcnt records, on-line logs, etc. At the instead,to make possiblccompromiscsbctweenruling clites.Thus, thc sub stanceof classical dcmocraticthcory is finally surrcnclcrcd. No krngcra//polit- samc timc an increasing proportion of the communication and analysis that ically consequentirlclccisions, but only thoscdecisionsofthc governnlent.tlil/ constitutes the bureaucratic work of thc govcrnment was never generated in deJined uspolitica/, tre to be sLrbjecttr.lthe preceptsof tlcmocratic will firrma- the form of a paper docume nt, cxisting only in the form of magnetic impulses tion . . . IHabcrrnas's emphasisl.rr on a tape or disk. There are thus two criticisms to bc made of the libcral, "free flow" model; No longcr is information mcrcly storcd and rctricvcd by computcr.Noq infor- two points at which thc cybernetic loop of participatory denrocrircyis, poten- mation is routincly collcctcclon computcr tapcs,uscclwithin an agcncl in tially, arrested. Iiirst, infbrrnation docs not by and large flow directly to "the computer fbrnr, exchangedwith and disclosedto regional ofhcesor other agenciesin computcr form, manipulatcdand analyzeclwith sophisticatecl corn- public," rather, it is mcdiated by a burcaucrirtic class ofjournirlists and access puter soltware, and archivedon computertapcs.rT professionals. And secor-rd,even if members of the public do get accessto infcrrmation, the "feedback loop" that could transfbrm the opirriurs they con- As computcr tcchnology and record-keeping systcms were more widely struct based on this infirrmation into substantivc chanSlesin govcrnment pol- used within the government they 1ed to a greater and grcater lcvcl of docu- icy is, arguablc, not functional. Thcse two criticisrns are interrclated. Ir-rhis mentation, which in turn promised (or threatened) to provide a hcrctoforc classic study The Structural T'ransJbrmationoJ'thePublic Sphere(I962). f Iaber- unknown level of detail about how thc governmcnt interacts and operates. mas traces "...the dissolution and obsolcscenceof the link-still pretcnded During the early 1980s thc Reagan administration, recognizing this thrt-lt, to by liberalism-betwccn public discussiorrand legal norm."3+Instead of a launched a successfulcountcrattack against the ITOIA, employing a "pano- situation in which dcbate and opinion formation';rmong individuals and com- ramic" definition of national security.The attack was bascd on scveral points, munities is translatcd into political action, ali "mercly individual opinions" including the expense of the implcmcr-rt:rtion of FOIA requcstsrs; Drug must be "mediatizecl" (or processed through the institutions of the pre ss) to E,nfbrcernentAdministration claims that a largc number of FOIA uscrs wcre havc any legitirnacy as thc cxpressionor communication of a "public opinion." actually criminals, and had a fear that their political opponents would use the Thus, debates or conflicts that take place between thc legislative and cxecu- FOIA to embarrass or attack them. As one official from the Office of Man- tive branches, or between the prcss (or accessactivists) and the flovernlnent, 2rgementand Budget noted: "stand in'for an actual public discourse.r'In many cases,irs the quotc abovc 'l'hcre is :rconcurrcnccin thc bclicf of thc b'.rde11e ct of too much disclosurc.... from Justice Powcll suggests,the press become virtually synonyuous with 'l'hc adrninistretionfcirrcd that, by provitling infirrmetion rbout whtrt thcl the pubiic interest. But, as Habermas notes: l v c r - ct l o i r r q ,t l r ct,r vo r r l dl r l sop r o vi r l ccr i ti cs r vi th r r no p p r >r ttn r i t_ \,to sh o o t tt . l I (, l' ltlri, s rrrrrlI lrt l rrtcrnt' r  cxPlainingto agencieshow The questions raised by the epistemological status of cronrputer rccortls thcm.... There has bcetrirn ctluc:rtionalProcess, to restrictinfirrtnltion.t' regarding the disposition of- wcrc at the center of ir recent fe deral crourt c:rr.se data transrnitted through fcdcral e-mail systems.Thc case began with rr suit that was filed in U.S. District Court in Washington D.C. in the wanirrg days The Reagan administration institutcd an I"OIA "user fee" recluircment of thc Rcagirn administration by r consortium of groups thrt includcd thc firr tlrc first tin.rc in 1983-ostensibly in order to pav for trOIA expenscs,and NSA, Ralph Nrdcr's Public Citizen Action Group, and thc Arncrican Civil also cr-rgirgecl in a rampant leclassification of prcviously dc-classified docr.r- Liberties IInion (ACLtI). The suit chargcd the Executivc C)1Ilccof the Pres- rnents, effectivcly placing thern beyond thc reach of the FOIA. It aiso dcvel- ident (trOP) with violurting the Fecleral llccords Act by destroyine dat'.rcon- oped the theory of ln "infbrrnation mosaic," "the idca that hostile elemcnts tainecl in their computcrized e-rnail systcms.rr The plaintiffs in thc cnse arguecl can use sophisticated search te chniques to asscmble bits of seemingly harm that me sszrgcsand documents that wcrc transmitted through thc c-rniril sys- less infirrrnation into insights that threatcn nrtional sccurity." An often-citcd tems (PROFS, Oasis, and A-1) connecting the EC)l), thc White Housc, :rnd exan.rpleof this danger was the 1979 publicatiorr by the Progressizcmagazine the National Security Council (NSC), constituted f-cdcral records becausc of a blucprint fbr r-r-ranufncturingan Il-bornb that was compiled frorn infirrma- tl.reywcrc uscd in the governing proccss.At that time this materirl wrs storcd tion containeclin various available government documents. As John Shattuck temporarily on back-up tapes hclcl in mrinframe computcrs, ancl thc trrpcs, and Muricl Moriscy Spencc note in tl-reir study of govcrnment infomrrtion rathcr than being savecl,were evcntually recorded ovcr lncl re -used. The clcfcn- po l i c y, " P ropon cn ts o fthc rno s aic t heor y . . . us ec lit t ( ) f as hio n a b r o a d e x p a n - dants in the case,including the White Housc, NSC, trOP, ancl subscquently sion of thc clirssilication system."r() thc N'.rtionrl Archivcs, argucd thrt the inlbrmatior.r on these tapes did not con- With the growinf{ use of cornplrtcr nctworks the government is faced with stitute a federal record bccausc itw2rs never printcd oLlt in the forrn of a paper thc problem of rn inforrn l:ttt:tnbhzz'a.rd-a lascivious and potentially threat- copy. enirrg interrningling in which mcmos, aflrdavits,invoices, reccipts,bank state- The case is indircctiy connected to thc ongoing Irln-contrrr invcstigrt- lncnts, and other documents combine irncl recombine themselves to produce tion since many of thc back-up t:rpesin tlucstion were usecl'.rscvidence in thc clangcrousncw collstcllations of meilning. In this scen'.lriothe threat clocsn't case.As NSA rescarcher irnd co-plaintiff Eddie Becker h:rs notcd, it was the lie with a sir.rglcpiece of dirrnaging infrrrrnrrtion that "leaks out" and exposes flexibility of the cornputcr network system that allowed Lieutcnirnt Coionel government mrllfirs:1ncc, but with the possible interconnections that might O l i v c r L . N , r r t h t o t o o rd i n l ttc'r l l r h c g ,r vcn r m cn t r l g e l l ( i cs n c( 'c:si tr vftt ''r u l l be mirdc ilrnong dozens of dillerent bits of information; bits that n.right mean il covert wilr on thrce cor-rtinents"without lcaving :r paper trail.+2The caseirlso little or nothing by themsclves, but that, whcn irssemblcd by thc researchcr charged the National Archives witl.r abrogating its responsibility in deter- into r particular narrative forn-i,could prove extremely darnaging. mining which govcrnmcnt agency documcnts constitute fedcral records.*' It is prccisely this r-rrrrittivcloqic, apd the associlted proccdures of index- After alnost fburycars of lppeals and rnotious, FederalJudgc Charles I{. ing and informrrtion rctrievill, that have bccn trken up as stratcgic tools within Richey reached a decision in the cirse in eirrly J'.rnr.nryof this ycar. Richey's the access community of rcscarchers and journalists who make usc of the nrling stated that thc existing recorcl-kccping protocols of thc NSC, the EOP, I"OIA. Tl-rc network svsternsused to store and process govcrnment rccords rnd the National Archives, were "capricious and arbitrarl'," and he ordcrcd posscssan unprecedentcd capacity to litcraliy mlp thc processcsofthe state, ,.rsernbodieclin the flow of data through its bure:rucratic systerns.Reserrt:hcrs the Bush adrninistrntion to irnrrediatcly slve all existing brrck-up tapes :rnd computerized rccords, including htrd drivcs and floppv disks. Ile furthcr nt the National SccrLrityArchives (NSA, a non-profit rcsearch institute and argued th'.rt thc c-rnail logs or clirectorics, which contained inforrn:rtion on wh<'r library laciiity in Washington, D.C.) placc rnultiplc I-OIA rcquests f<rr the sent what mcssagcto whom and when, wcre themselvcs rccord materill, cvcn salne docltment fron'r various :rgencics,knowing th'rt cach agencv will choosc though this inforrnation was never printcd out in pirper fbrni. Richey's ruling to delctc dillerent material, and thcr.rcornbinc these sets to producc a single, was prernised on two carlier pieces of legislation: the FOIA and the 1943 liccl rnore or lcss cornplcte, version of the document. The NSA inclexesvast date eral Records Act (l"RA). The trRA clefincs a l-eclerul Record as: setswith key search terms, :rllowing rcscrrrchersto unrlvel the complcx inter- connections of govcrnme nt agenciesand oPer2ltions.This techniquc c'.lnPro- ... all books,p.rper,rnrps,photographs,mlchinc rcrdrblc rnlterirls, or othcr v i d e e kind of "map pin g" of t he c ov c r t gov er nr nent apP a r a t L r s - a l l o w i n g rLrcumentlrvmrtcrirlls,rcgardlessof ph_ysical m:rdcor firrrnor chatactcristics, rcccivedby an agcncvofthe Llnited Statcsundcr Fcderallarv or in conttcc- rcsearchersto itscert2liltthe larger topology of political alld ccononlic l)owcr tiorr rvirh thc tr:rnsrrction busirtcssrrnrlprcscrvctlor epproprirrtcfirr' o1'pLrblic tnd pri.,'ilegcas it is dcploveclthroughout the infirrmation systcrnsof thc st:ttc. )IS l ' ' t l r i , r r rrrrl l l rl l n l t t n ct  preservation by that agcncy as evidence of the organization, functicins, poli- clearly a significirnt stake in holding the government accountable to the exist- c ies , d c c i s i o n s , p r o c e d u r e s, o p e r ir tio n s, o r o th cr a ctivitie s of the Govemmcnt ing terms of the FOIA-but rather is an attempt to acknowledge the insti- or bc c a u s c o f t h e i n f o r m a tio n a l va lu e o f th e d a ta in th cm.l l tutional and ideological boundaries that function to limit the potentiai of the It was specifically the clause stating "...regardless ofphysical form or char- I'OIA, and cornputer tcchnologv, to disrupt cxisting lbrms of political power. acteristics" that Richey cited to support his contention that cromputer tapes constitutc fcderal records and fall under the jurisdiction of the National Archives. Internet and the Marketplace of Ideas Richey's decision will make it more difficult for future Oliver Norths to use e-mail systems in covert operations. However, it was only a partial vic- In thc PROFS casc we can obscrvc thc actual pcrformancc of computer tory. While it rearranged the parameters of existing information policy to network technology within an institutional contcxt. In this instance thc osten- account for electronic data, it lcft intact the entire mechanism of executive sibly inhcrent "liberatory" capacity of network technology was itself "tran- privilege. The governmcnt successfully def'ended its right to rctain control over scended" by the boundarics of liberal information policy. Onc might contend certain materials that were determined to be "presidentiai records" (i.e. record.r that the PROFS network is simply too constricted by thc strategic demands of that are rtept by tbe fresident and 1>residentialadvisors such as the President's the state and that a rnore accurate indication of the potential of networks would Chief of Staff, the Vice President, and certain agencies of the Executive of6ce), be found in :rn institutional environment in which a netwr:rrk system was able as opposed to "fcderal records" that are accessibleundcr the FOIA. While the to function with more autonomy and was accessibleto users outside the govern- plaintiffs effectively argued that the government didn't have a consistent sys- rnent. I will conclude by discussing the case ofjust such a network-Internet. tem for determining which of its records were "presidential" this clearly does Internet has been the site of some of the most optimistic rhetoric regerd- nothing to prevent the ongoing coordination of covert operations within the ing thc potcntial of network systems.It is a global network system that was Executivc Oflrce of the President, so long as the government is careful to limit established by the [J.S. rriilitary in the late 1960s "...to transrnit packets of thc storage and exchange ofthe data involved. It is here, at the point at which military data sccurely and efficiently around the world."a5 Although it has the FOIA and computer technology verge on providing a systcmatic picture bccn uscd primarily by thc military and thc universities engaged in military of the "totality" of govcrnment operations, that the discourse of liberalism research,during the last decade a growing percenta€ieofits user base has bcen assertsitselfby constructing specific areasofgovcrnment procedure and infor- composed of individuzrls with rro direct relationship to military research mation-dernarcated by the infinitely elastic categoriesof "national security" (although they may well be ernployed by universities or corporltions that and "executive privilege"-that are beyond thc sysiem of democratic account- engage in milit:,rry research).These users, who include computer scientists, ability, and beyond the reach of the FOIA. re scarchcrs,journalists, academics,and others whose jobs provide them with Bccause of the limitations placed on FOIA requests by "natior.ralsecu- subsidizcd acccssto mainframc and e-mail technology, have formed them- rity," researcherscan never rcally hope to build a complete picture of gov- selves into Internet Bulletin Board Systerns (BIIS) and interest groups of ernment operations, despite the fact that computer technology rnakes this a varving sizes on topics ranging from Cyberpunk to health care poiicy to Zen. possibility. Thus, one of the most visible products of the FOIA (and of 1ib- Taken togcther thcsc uscrs arc said to constitutc the germinal form of a new cral information policy) has been the spectacle of public "scandal"-usually global community of the n'rind. in a highly publicized legal or judicial context-in which politicians are forced Millions of us havc alrcadvbuilt communiticswhcrc our idcntitics comrnin to release records or data of some kind. These scandals (e.g. the Pentagon g1eand interactelrctr,,nicilly,indcpenrlcntof local timc or Iocation.Thc way Papers,\Matergate,and the "PROFS" case)te nd to focus on the personal mis- a lew of us live now might bc thc w:ry a largcr populatiorrwill livc, clecadcs nenc c . ' conduct of public olficials and bureaucrats, whose behavior is viewcd as a pathological violzrtion of an otherwise healthy system of democratic !!overn- The "informationalsublime"sketchedat the beginningof this cssayis fully ment. Onc cffect of these casesis precisely to reinforce the perception that in place:Internet is a global salonofinterconnectedfree-thinkerswho are liv- the systernof chccks and balances designed to maintain the accountability of ing in the bravenew world of cyber-democracy. Network systemsbased on thc public officials to the public will is ir.rfact working, and to thcrcby insulatc internetmodelwill revitalizepolitical debate,decentralizepolitical decision- the larger "met:rphysical" system described by Schmitt from critical scrurin\'. nraking,nnd empowervast segrnentsof the populationthrough unhinderecl Th i s is not mea nt as a crit ic is m of t he ac c es sc om m unitv i t s c l f - t h c r c is il('ccssto thc most current infbrrnation. .l . l O lt t lri, s rrnilflrc lnltrn r'1 (K r" . l c r) . 1 . )|  l-ifc in cvbcrspacc... is a lite th:rt,at its best,is rnorc ecpalitarianthrrnclit time to spend their days "writing screenplays,rcading magazincs, and giving ist, and morc dccentralizcdthan hicrarchicll.It scrvesindividtrels:rrrcl com- interviews." Political oppression in this context is only understood in relation niunitics,not nt:lssiru(lieilces, and it is extraorilinrrrily in the pur ntulti-lrrcctcd to accessor dcnial of accessto information. The "real" political struggle is P (): csl' ) rvlrie lrit i' prrt. sccmsto be shapinguP cxxctl\''likc'l'homas In fact, lifc in cvtrcrsl-r:rce waged against the dark lbrces that irnpose restrictions on the grazing hnbits Jerllcrsonrvoukl havc w:rntecl:tirundedon thc primacy of incliviclrtalliberty lnd ofthe cyber cow. '.rcornnritmcrttto pluralisrn,divcrsitv,rtnd communitl'.r;' In the debates surrounding Internct the rhetoric ofthe public sphcrc and thc rhctoric of the rnarkct merge effortlcssly together. "Let the markctplace In the rhetoric surrouttding Internct we discover lr set ofidels about the of idcas rule!" proclaims Nlitch Kapor of E,FIi one of rhc most influenrial com- "inforrlation clen.rocracy"that are cluitc similar in forrn l)Liblic sphere rnd an putcr network lobbying orplanizations.Kapor warns of the danger of cxccs- to thosc frlund in liberal infonnation policy. Thc "free flow" model assumes sive govcrnment "regulation" in the devclopment of network systents.It sccms thrt society is cornposcd of autonornous aucl ec1ua1individuals who necd obvious thnt if thc development of network systcms is left to thc tcnder mer- rlcrcly bc givcn acccss to the pro;rcr technologf in ordcr to actualize ttreir cie s of the markct they wili only bc avaihble to thc aIfluent. Ilowcver, Kapor rolc irs citizcns. Locatcd 2rtthe ccntcr of this cliscourscis the rnor-raclic, bour- is confident that the sheer, vitality of the markct econolnv will naturally gc6is ilclividual who floartsfree of institutional and social constrrrints (class broaden access and that the tclccomrnunications industry wili, with some n'rcrnbership,proftssior-ralsubculturc, or function within larger cconornit: lncl gcntlc persu'.rsionon thc part of the govcrnment and organiza.tions likc liFlr, social processcs) sceking onlv exchangc and c()nrrlunication with otl-rcrfree comc to see thirt networks which permit the greatest divcrsity of content and florting, self:idcr.rtical irgents. Rheingold lnd Lirnicr, to nrunc trvo of thc more services ... will creatc the largest sustainable business opportunities."sl prolific lyricists of the cybcr opern, havc pointccl out the power of nctwork Kapor and the "new de mocrirts" of cyberspace arc able to negotiatc the systernsto "erasc" social distinctions of all kinds, rendering out of thc dross contr'.rdictoryterrain bctween their embrace of capitalisrn and their profcssed of the racc, gender, and clirss-spccificindividurrl a ncw utlivcrsal subject; the croncernwith democracv through a symbolic transaction in which the charac- cybcr citizen. teristics of "capital" and "inforrnation" are con.rbined.Thus Kapor describes his Beclusr:we c:lnnot seconc tnother, wc :rrcutrablcto form prcjudices:rbt>ut vision of thc network in terrns of a'Jeffersonian" re-distribution of inlirrmation/ qtfrcrs befirrc wc rceil whtt thc-yhirvc to s:Iv:rllcc) gcncler,:rgc,n:rtionrrlori wealth: "If you give peoplc a suitably rich ir.rfbrmation environment, what- gin, and phvsicalappeitriincc urc not :rppiirentunlcssI Pcrsonw'.tlltsto tnake ever thcir discipline or profession, you'rc crnpowering thcm economically." snchchar:rctcristics pu blic . . . . r t And, as Robert Wright comrncnts ir.r an articlc on Kapor in 7'heNeu Repub- Virtr.nl I{ealit_vis thc ultirnrtc lack of clrrssor recc clistinctiortsor any othcr lirrnr of pretensc,sinccall fcrrmis v:rriablc.'" /ir, "information is potentially infinite." Thercfore, unlike convcntional firrms ofcapital "cveryone can cultivate it, and evcryone can share in the harvest."5z 'l'he political horizons of the cybcr-citize n afe defincd by the corc virltresof This samc theme is taken up by educational thcorist Lewis J. Perehnan in the bourgeois libcrllisrl-frcedom of cxpression, 'lcccssto cornmunicrrtions net- prerniere issue of Wired.Perellran discussesthe powcr of "inforrnirtion tech- works zind technologies, '.rnd thc power to Inove at will through the world of nologies" to bypass the lirnitltions of conventional cconomic production. He the clata strearn. 'lhus we lind Michlel Synergy, onc of the "nrost explicitly claims that "information, unlike cncrgy and rn:rterials ... is practically bound- political ... of the voung h,ackcrs," describing his lifc-style and motivrtions less. So in thcory, the softwarc-based knowledgc scctor neecl nevcr run inro in terms that irre relriniscent of rrn MTV-gcneration adolescctlt: 'limits to growth."'Perelman, who goes on to warn that this "extrcmc profit- I rrm:rn infirrmationaddict,:r sclrsoryjunkic. I want stinulus, tncl I wrnt it ability" will need to be safeguarded by ir.rcreasinglystringent intellectual prop- 1ow! 56 what cloI do? I read a book a clay.I listen to music,cotttposcmusic, crty legislatior-r,is corrvinced that "information," in the fbrm of softwrrrc, is watch movics.I r.vritescrccnphys,rctrtlm,rgrrzinct, givc intcrvicws ... Antl an infinitely elastic comrnodity, capable of producing boundless wcalth, lnd whcn I crack into conrllutcrs,I browscand rcuclpcoples'rrail,plpers, notcs, solving the "dilcmma" of falling ratcs of profit and dcclining standards of liv- pr()g-r:uns,rt.. I'rn tn inquiring mind rncl I wrnt to know.-fhis is lr r:n1issttc. ing in the LJ.S.I)ereLnan eii-ectivcly fuses "information" and "cirpital" ir.rto a I w:urt to lcarn anclthcy wilnt to irnposc"necdto know" otl cvcrythitlg.'0 ncw hybrid that combines the characteristics of each. Cornputer technology Ifthis constitutes a "political" pcrspectiveit is a singularly privilcgcd one, c()lI) undcrtnine s the hicrarchies and lirnitations of the traditional industrill ccon- ins from sorneonewho is insulatcd frorn thc rigors of c1ailylifc by the posscs orny in a libidinllly charged "flow" r>r"stream" of infbrmation-as-crpitll. Ciap- sior-rof highly lrrarketabie technologicrl skills; sonleonc who hrts thc lcistrrc i t r r l i s r r o l o n g c r r n c r c l v r r n l ci r su r c o f 1 l r o l i t, r :r th cr , i t r r r >r vl r r r s tl r c r r r r r g i cr r l ).)) I ' . t l r i ( s i i l r(l l l rt l rrl trrrtr (l\(,t(t) ability to literally reproduce itself. Like information it "can be taken without which is the transfer of manufacturing labor to the "newly industrializing being krst." And information in its turn becomes a form of exchange-based countries of thc Third World" where wages are drastically lower, and work- "practical currency."5:' ing conditions aren't subject to stultifying government rcgulation. I{e cites Central to this exchange is the bclief that, as inforrnation takes on thc economist Paul Kellog, who notes that "On a world scale there are more charactcristicsof capital, so too does capitalism, understood in terms of prop- industrial workers [now] than at any time in history.. .. The industrial work- crty relations and corporate control ovcr economic resources and means ofpro ing class in the 36 leading industrial countries ... between 1977 and1982, duction, ceaseto play a central role in shaping social or econornic conditions. increased its numbers from173 to 183 million."s5 The most extreme increascs In this scenario concepts such as "propertv" and "class" are quair-rtnineteenth in employment in the U.S. havc been overwhelmingly in thc service sector: century anachronisms that arejarringly out ofdatc in the cyberflux ofthe late "22 per cent of the 17.1rnillion nongovernment servicejobs created in the U.S. twentieth century. As Synergy insists, in the article cited earlier: "the debate bctween 1972 and 1984 was accounted for by restaurants and retail trade, a over ownership is over...."sa Here the Silicon Valley anarcho-liberalism of sector where hourly carr.ringswere 380/obelow those in manufacturing.":o publications such as Mondo 2000 rneets Daniel Bcll's vision of a post-indus- What is rnore clearly happcning, behind the rosy predictions of the com- trial society in which thc industrial working class is entirely supplanted by putcr avant-garde, is a growing division of labor between low-paid insecurc, cadres of highly-trained "knowledge workers." The traclitional limitirtions of and often unsafe jobs in thc service sector, assembly and manufacturing, and industriai capitalism, oppressive working conditions, chronic unemployment, a minority of highly privileged managerial, technical, and professional posi- poverty, pollution, class conflict, etc., will disappear in thc cican, post-indus- tions. This is a division that is reiterated on both the local and the global lcvel, trial information economy. As for those who seem to be left out of this utopi,r with the expansion of "informal economics" in rnajor American cities, fueled (thc poor, displaced industrial workcrs, service workers, and the globai labor by immigrant labor; what Callinicos describes as "the revival of nineteenth force), we need only provide thern with thc proper "inf<rrmation euviron century sweated tradcs in the richest cities on thc earth." This cntire system ment" to ensure their economic "cmpowerment." is organizcd around the nceds ofglobal conglomerates in sectorssuch as tele- There remains some question, howcvcr, of how successfullypost-industrial cornmunications, computer manufacturing, and garment production, as well society has overcome the limitations of capitalism and the extent to which as thc more traditional manufacturin€i sectors.This division provides substan- conventional forms of industrirl production '.rnd manufacturing have been tial evidence that "class" is considerably morc than an anachronism. replaced by the clean "high tcch" inlbrmation economy. Kapor believes that While an assemblyworker in Indonesia may well bc "empowere d" by the "laccessto data lcts people] strike out and have an indcpcndcnt economic exis- global redistribution of information, she might feel even more empowered by tence." No doubt it did in thc caseof individuals like Kapor-thc founder and the possibilitv of a global rcdistribution of wealth. Libcralism, with its obses- former CEO of Lotus Developmcnt Corporation who attended Yale and sive fbcus on the individual, can't thematize systematic forms of oppression- MIT's Sloan School of Management-well-educated and privileged white, class or gender-bascd, ethnic, or otherwise-which pre-exist and to an extent middle-class men who werc in the right place at the right timc in the early predeterrnine the individuai's capacity to participate in a free and open development of the computer industry. But simply having accessto informa- exchange. The "democracy" postulatcd by liberalism is premised on the goal tion is clearlv not enough. There is no rcason to assume that computer net- ofa consensusachicved through dcbate and discussion among cqually-posi- works will do any more to help people "strike out and have an independent tioned social actors: the universal "citizen" of bourgeois ideology. However, economic existence" than public librrrries or long-distance party lines. Kapor's wc sirnply don't come to the communication process as cqual participants, statement assumesthe existence ofan ever-cxpanding pool ofjobs that thesc an cntire set of social and economic procresses intervcnc to position eech indi "empowercd" nctr,vork users would be abie to fill. IJut current econornic trencls, vidual and social group in diffcrcnt relations of privilege and oppression.5TAs and the increasing usc of automation, suggeststhat thcrc will be fewer jobs Carl Schmitt points out, thc "citizen" is an abstraction that does not rcflect in the future. Those jobs that do remain will be clearly dividcd betwecn the real conditions ofpeople's social expcrience. Rathcr, it is extrapolated out highly-skilied technical and managerial positions and low-paying scrvicc and of the spccific position that certain privileged groups and classesoccupy in irssembly labor. rel:rtion to tcchnical irnd communications skills, modes, and rnedia of cxpres- Alex Callinicos, in Against Postmaderni.sm: A Marxist CritirltrL (1()()O) sion, ctc. points out that what appearsto bc a steady decline in ernployrlrcnt in tlrc rrr:rrr I t t t h c c l o m t i n o f 't hc p o l i ti t:u lp co p l ctl o n o t fu ccce ch o th cr :r s a b str r r cr i o r r s, rr f l c t Lrring se cto rs is in fact thc r c s ult of s c v c r ll r c lat ec l f ic to r s , ( h i c f '; l r r ( 'r : l l r r r l l t s p o l i t i c r r l l vi r r tcl cstcrrl tn r lp o l i ti cl r l l l ,tl ctt'r r r i n ctll ) cr s( ) n sr l s ti ti zcr r s, (K r" . t c r)  gov erno r s o r g o v c r n c d ) p ttlitic:r l1 y a llictl o r o p p o n e n ts- in t ny case' thercfttrc, entirelydetached from any institutionai or soci,rlfoundirtionis evidentin the in polit i c : r l c : r t e g o r i c s .I n th e sp h cr c o ftlie p o litica l o n c cannot abstri i ct out description of Internet in The Nevt Repub/ir: what is p o l i t i c e l , l e : r v i n g o n ly u n ive r sa l h u m ln e cp :ility; thc samc eppl i es i n t hc rc el m o f c c o n o m i c s , wh e r e p co p lc ilr e n o t co ttccivcd a s such, but as prcr Intcrnet i nvoi ves no domi n:rnt c orporrte pl ay ers , no c c ntral s ourc e ofi nforma- duc ers , c o n s u m c r s , l n d so fitr th , th a t is, in sp e cifica lly cco nomi c c:ttcg,tri cs.'s ti on, no ccntral sourc c of any thi ng. It i s w i th ev i dc nt s ati s fac ti on that K i rpor cal l s i t "one ofthc w orl d' s l arges t func ti oni ng anarc hi es .""r Schrnitt arllucs thilt the "equality" presumed by the bourgeois public sphere 'fhis "anarchy" was establishcd by the IJ.S. rnilitary and is operated prirnar- is only possiblc due to the maintcnance of a corollary "inecluality" clscwhere; by the strntegic suppression of difl-erence and thc dcr-rialof accessto the mech- ily by govcrnment-funded univcrsities and businesses,and used by an over- anisrns of liberal government 2lndcolnn)Lrnicationsto entire classcs.The only whelmingly white, rnale cadrc of professionals and intcllcctuals who are the way to form a liberll consensusis preciselv by insuring the homogencity of beneficiarics of a highly developcd system of technical cducation, and of an the public sphere within which debate and discussiott occur. Thus the "con information economy whosc global impact has been profoundly divisive . The sensus" achieved in this public sphere will "naturrl1ly" coir.rcidcwith the specific utopian "community" of Internet is able to proclaim its opennessand democ- intere sts of the privilcgcd class who inhabit it. Schmitt's theoreticrl analysis racy preciselybccauseof its homogeneity and its privilege. I will conclude with of libcralisnr can be illustrated by turnir-rg to the historical configuration of a Rheingold's clescription of his participation on the Whole Earth 'Lectronic classic "public spherc" '.rnlongthc cighteenth cetrtrtry European bourgc,risie. Link (Wlil,t,), which is considered by many to be among the most open rnd T'hc emergent "civil society" of printing pressesand polernical tracts is cele- progressive network systems in the country. brated by figurcs such ls Habermas as the ur-form of the public sphcre; ln Nlost of thc pcoplcI rneet[ou thc Wtrl-L] sccmto be whitc or Asian;Af]ican idcal world of cxchange, debate, and political will-formrtion. Howcvcr, a Americanslrcn't niissing,but thcy rrcn't conspicuousor cvcn visible.If you number of researchcrshave pointcd out that this utopia ofcoffee houscs and can fake it, gernderand :rgc rrc invisible too. 1'c1gucssthc WtrLL consistsof rbout B0 pcrccnt men and 20 pcrccnt womell. I don't know whcthcr firrrnat salor-rswas far from inclusivc. Nancy Fraser, citing the work of historian Geoff dernographics would be the kind of thing that most WE[,L uscrswould want Ely, points out that "exclusionary operations wcre essential to libernl public to contributeto. It's certrinly sonlethingwe'd cliscuss, argue,debate,:rnd.iokc spheres not only in Francc, but in Engl:rnd arrd Germany." about.('2 civic,prolessionel, ... This nctwork of clutrsand :rssocittions--phil'.rnthropic, Rheingolcl's comment that most of thc pcople who have acccssto the WELL irnclculturirl-was rnything but acccssiblcto everyone.()n thc contrirry,it "seern to be" white is telling. How rcwarding it is to know that the predorn- w2rsthc urcnl, the training ground, zrndevcntuallvthe power bascof l stre- turrr of bourgeoismen who werc cotning to see thcmsclvcsls I "univers:rl inantly white, wcll cducated men rvho "sccm to" dominate the computer sub- clnss"and prcparingto rssertthcir fitncssto govern.t" culture would be willing to "discuss,argue, debate, and joke about" thc cxclu- sion:rry nature of cyberspacc. It would be even morc rewarding to discovcr that The unanimity of the public sphere is only possible beciruscof its homogen- they wcre able to be critical of their own position within it. eity. Thus, inecluality is "shifted," in Schmitt's words, from the poiitical sphere to thc econornic sphcrc. Substantiveincclualiticswoultl in no wAy disappearfrom the worlcl:rnclthc NOTES stitc; thcvwoultl shift into rnother sphere,pcrhrps sep2urtedtiom thc polit- ical anclconcentrtte<lin thc economic,lcavingthis :rreato t:rkcon a new,dis- 1. John Scully,Chairman of Applc Conputer, citeclby Hcrbert I. Schiller,"Thc proportionatclvdccisiveimportancc.l") lrrformrticrrrHighway: PublicWay or PrivateRoad,"Tialy'atian(Jtiy12,1993),p.64. 2. Ro1,Ascott, "Is Thcre Love in the 'ltlcmatic Embr:rce?"'4rt .lournal, Cc>m- That is, a largely symbolic or "empty" cquality and democracv is perforrr-red p l r t e r : 1 nA r t : l s s r . r eosf C o n te n t,vo l .4 9 , n o .3 ., F.r 1 7 1 9 9 0 ,p .2 4 3 . within thc existing institutions of governmct-tt and public lifc cven as 11system- 3. Scc Leo Mtvx, TheMarhine in tha Garden:Tuhnolog)tand the Pastord/Ideal in atic inequality persists in thc economic spherc. We cirn witncss this same divi- ,4mt'rira(Ncw Yrrk: Oxfirrd Univcrsity Press,1967). 4. J:rrnesW. Carcy, Conuttuttica/ion as Culture:Esso)ts (New on Medin dnd Socrrr,y sion in the schisrn bctween the vauntcd clairns of "cybcr-detnocrircy" and the Vrrk: Iloutlcd gc.,7992), p. 720. actual cconomic basisof tlie high-tech global economy.'fhc tcchnokrsical firrnr -5.Ibid.. o. 130. of tl-rccomputer network becomes an autonolnous firrcc capablc of pront,rtirtg 6. Ibid., p. 123. profirurrcl social changc. This tenclency to pcrccive comJ)uter techtt,rlogl rts 7. lbitl., p. 122. .l . l t ' l' . t lrl,t r rrr,ltlrc lrrttr rrtr  B . C)ne o f t h c c l a s s i c d e s c r ip tio n s o f wh a t lifc will b e like in thc "i nf<rrmrti on 2(r. Carl Schmitt, 1'heCri.ri.r,l-Parliumentary I)emocrdrl,trans.by Ellen Kennedy agc" is Daniel Bell's 77e Coming of'Post-Industria/ Soi:iet1t(New York: Basic Books, (Cambridge,MA: MIT Press,1985),p. 3.5. 1973),in whic h h e a n a l y z c s t h c g r o win g e xp a n sio n o f th e "kn o wlcdge cl ass," and the 27 . Ibid., p. 49. c onse quent dc c l i n c o f i r m a n u f a ctu r in li cla ss. F o r a n a lte r n a tive vicw see A l cx C al l - 28. Ibid.. o. 38. inicos, "Thc Myths of Postindustrialism," Against Postmodernisnt;A Marxi.rt Critirlue 2e. Ibid..;.3e. ( Ne w Y ork : S t . M r r t i n ' s P r e s s , 1 9 9 0 ) , p p .1 2 1 - 1 2 7 . 3 0 . C o o p c r ,p . 6 2 5 . 9 . Art is t s a r e a m o n g t h e mo st lyr ica l cxp o n cn ts o f th e u to p ia n potenti tl s of nct- 31. I.'einberg, p. 617. w ork tec hnolrgy : " T o d a y , n e t w o r k a r t ca lls a r tists to a la r g e r scn sc ofpurpose, i nrcr 32. (]raham Murdock and Pcter Goltlins, "InfbrmrrtionPovcrtv and Politicrl r cl a tcclnes s and, c o o p c r a t i o n . I t in vo lvcs a sh ifi fio m p a tr ia r ch a l, h ic rarchi cal , :rnthnr f n e q r r r r l i t i(:'i t i z t n s h i I i r r th e Ag c,r f Pr i v:r ti zttlC ,r r r r r n tr n i .'r,n r l i,,".l , o tr r n uolJL 'a tn tn u - p occr-rt rict hink i n g t o a w o r l d v i e w visir > n ;a r n e ta n o il. Cr o ss cu ltu rl l nctw orki ng i s rr n i a t i o n ( S u m m c r1 9 8 9 ) ,p . 1 8 3 . raclical act of gilt sharing, collaborutive play, tlialoguc, intcrconnection antl acccssi 33. JiireenHrbermas, Ltgitimatian f,'rls;s(Boston:BcaconPress,1973),p. 124. bilitv." Chuck Welch, "Art That Networks" in Inler/itce , vol. 4, no. 1 (April 1992), p. 34. Jiirgen Ilabermas, 'I'he Structura/ TrunsJbrmationo.f'thePuh/ic SpharL:: An 16. Al so s ec R< r yA s c o t t ( a b o v e ) ; fr o n L e o n a r d o ;"T h c n cw cL ) n n ctiv i ty mcrl ns w e ci l n Inqtriry into u CatcgorloJ'llourgaois Sarirr_y (Cambridgc, MA: MI'I'Press, 1992),p.1,78. p r rti ci p ilt c in n e t w o r k e d i n t c r a c tio n with o th cr m in d s, o th cr scn sibi l i ti es, othcr sens- 35. Ibid.. o.233. in g and t hink ing s y s t e m s r c r o s s th e p la n e t. It is a g lo b r r l visio n *th ought ci rcul ati ng 36. Ibid.,p.227.llrtt'termrs'lssurnptionthrtthepublicwas,..rtsorne previoushis in the medir-rrnof dat:r, in electnrnic space, fonning virtu:rl communitics through a mu1 toricel pr>int,composccl<>fpeople"firrmrllv arrd rnaterilllv on an crlu:rlfiroting" hls t ipl i ci tv of dif f cr c n t c u l t u r e l , s o c ia l a n d p e r so n e l h ycr s." becn challcngedby a number of scholars.Scc Nancy Fr:rser,"Rcthinking the Public 1 0. Hrrold C . R e 1 1 ' c a , ' l ' h ePr e sicle n cya n d th e Pe o p lc' s Rig h t to K noq" i n R cl - Sphcrc:A Contribution to the Critiquc of Actually Existing Dcmocracv,"in T'fuPhart- yea, et el., 'I'he Presidcnry and InJbnnutian Policl,(Ncw Yrrk: Ce ntcr for the Studv of torn Pultlir:Sphere,Bru,ceRobbins, ecl. (N'Iinncapolis:Univcrsity of Minnesota Press, t hc Prc * iJ c ne), l g l i l ) , | . l 1 9 9 3 ) ,p p . 1 *3 2 . 1 1. I bid. . o . , 1 . 37. Priscilla M. Rcgan, "Privac,1,, Govcrnment InfirrrnirtionzrndTechnologv," 12 . Ib i d ..o. 5. l'ub/icAdninislration Retieu, vol. '1(r,no. 6 (Novcmbcr/I)cccmber1986),p. 630. 13 . Ib i d .,pp.11 13. 38. The Rcagan :rdministration argucclthirt "A frec flow of intbrnrrriion is not 1,1.In 1989,according to thc Infirrm:rtion SccurityC)versight C)ffice, the U.S. the sameas the flow of ficc infirrmltion, or thc flow of infirrmetion fbr fice ." I-otte E. govcrnmentcl:rssificdalmost sevenrrillion piecesof infirrmation,itt a ratc of lbout licinbcrg, "Manapling thc Frccdom of Inlbrrnation Act :rnd Federal Information Pol 13 per rninutc."Computcrsand the FOIA," Editor and Pub/isher,lvne27,1990,p.8. ic1',"Pub/icAdminislrutionRericrLt, vol. '16,no. 6 (Novcmbcr/I)cccmber1986),p. 619. 15. For a f:rscin:rtingstudy of the liistorv,tnd current idcolt>gy, of the "intclli- 39. Lottc E,.F-cinberg,"N{rnaging thc Iireedom of Ir-rfirrm:rtionAct and Fecleral gencebusir-rcss"sccArrgelo Codcvilla, Informirt.gStdtrrrf (NewVrrk:'l'he Frcc Prcss, Infbrnr:rtion Policy: The Rergan Yelr's,"()oternmtnt Infbrmati.onQuarter/1,vol.6, no. 1ee2). a (1e89)p , . 350. 16. -l'ruman's;rhrascis cited in an acldress by Sccrctaryof StetcJamcsF. Byrnes '10. John Shattr:ckand Muricl Morisey Spence,"Thc Dangersof Inf<rrmation in Novcmber of 19'15.Janrus l'. Bvrncs,"P,rlicv,rn Information Conir,,l," in FetJcrdl Contrcrl," in 'lirm F<rrestor,cd., (:zm?utcr!in the Humtn Context:InJbrmation,T'eth- InJormatiottCon/ralsin Pcacetima, compilcd by Robert E. Sunrrncrs(New Yrrk: I1.W. rtolog.y, Productioit.y,und Pcoplc(Crmbridgc: MI'['Press, 1989),p. a5a. Wilson Company,1949),p. 31. 41. "Thc systcllsnrc ... useclto trlrnsmitclcctronicmlil and to gcncratecalen- 17. John N. Erlenborn,"Thc Balanceof FOIA Experiencc,"rn Puhli,:Adminis dars of appointmcntsancl mcetings.'Ihey rrc llso usccllirr creatingrnd cditing ,,t trotion Reait:tu, vr>I.,16,no. 6 (Novcmbcr/I)ccember1986),p. 608. mcmoranda,and trirnsferring fi1esand clocunientsin clcctronic firrmirt. 'l'he crcatron 18. William J. Hagcns,"'l'he Moss Committee rnd Frccclomof Infcrrmation," lnd transmittalof electronicn-rail,in thc tbrm of 'notes,'isthc most comrnonlyr.rsed MichiganAt:ademician, vol.4, no. 2 (FtlI 1971),pp.205 2\6. firnctionof the systcm."lirom the opinion of CharlesR. Richey,lJ.S.DistrictJudge, 19. Lottc E,. lieinberg,"M:rnaging the Frccdornof Information Act and Fcdcral Civil Action No. 89-1,12,1ilcclJanuar_y 6,1993,p. 6. Infirrrnation Rrlicy," Puhlic,4dtninistrdtion Rerittt:, vol. 46, no. 6 (Novcnrbcr/Decembcr 42. Sec Grant I(ester,'All the Presiderrt's N4emory:licdcral Record I(ccping 1986),p. 615. tnd the Pcrliticsof Infrrrmatior-r N{anagcment," AJierinugt20:8 (XIerch 19q3),pp. B.. 2 0. I bid.. o .6i7 . 10. Segn"rents ofthc dcscriptionofthese collrt cascsare tlken from thc introcluction 21. Harlan Cleveland,"GovernnrentIs Infcrrmirtion(But Not Vice Versa),"Pzrl to this intervicw with Bccker. /ic /liministration Revictu,vol. ,16,no. 6 (Novembcr/December 1986),p. 606. 43. SeeLouis Fishcr,"Congressional Acccssto ExccutiveBrench lnfirrrneti.rn: 22. Phillip J. Cooper,"Thc SuprcmeCourt, the liirst Arnendment, and Freedom Lcssonsfiorn Iran-Contr't.,"Goterntntnl InJbrrnatiort. Qu.artcr/1,,vol.6, no. ,{ (1989),pp. crfInfirrnr:rtiorr," Puhlit ,4dninistrotion Reviezo,p. 622. :tB3-393. 2 3. I bid. 4.1. Clitedirr Opinion of CharlesR. Richc1,, U.S.DistrictJudge,Civil Action No. 24. Hlrold C. Relyea,'Acccssto Governmcnt Intirrrn:rtionin thc Inlirrnrrrtiun t39-1.12, lilcd Januirr_v 6, 1993,p. 8. Agc," PublicAdministrutiart Re",tietl,p. 636. -1.5.I(cvin Cookc unrl l)an l,chrcr, "'l'hc Whole World Is'l'alkinq," 'l'/trNtti.ott 25. Priscilla N{. Regan,"Privacy,Governmcnt Infirrm:rtion enil 'l'cchrrol,rgr'," ( . l t r l r '1 2 ,1 ( ) 9 i ) ,p . 6 1 . PuhlicAdministratiznRn,iru, vol. '16,no. 6 (Novenrbcr/Dcccmbcr1986),p. 6.10 '1 ( r . I l o r v r t r r j l i h t i r r q ,,l ,l ,"t\ Sl i ,c o l 'l ,i l i i r r N l 1 \r 1 1 tr r :r( l'o r r r r r r r r r r ttt," ( i /r /,,r / -l - l S l' lt lri,s rrrr,ltlrc lrrtcr-rrt r , t , rt r, l i / ' , I u t t t / ' ( Kr ,tr r ) Nctuorks; Computersand Internationa/ OommuniL'otiott," Lindt NlI. Ilarasinr, editor (Cambridge:N{I'f Press,1993)'pp. 15-34. 17. Mitchell l(apor,"where Is the Digital Highway Reell1-Heading?The Cese fcrraJeflersoniirnInfiirm:rtion Policv''' Wird (.ldy/Hugust 1993),p' 5ii' 48. R heing old ,p.6 6. (M,rv/ 49. Jarcrrri,r,-rici cit".l in PeggvOre nstein,"Gct a Cyberlif-e,"Mather.loncs June 1991),p. 63. 50. Micha.1 Synergv,"svnergy Speaks"'Mondo 2000 (Winter 1991)'p' 5l' -51. Kapor,p. 54. 52. Rotcrt Wright, "1'hc New l)cnrocrat lrorn Cybersptce," 7-heNt:u-tRcpubli,: (NIay 2,1, 1993),p. 25. 'L"U.1. 53. Pcrelman,"School',s C)ut:Public Liducationobstructs thc l'uture," Wired,prcmicreissue,1993,P.73. 5,1. Svncrgr,', p. 51. 5-5. Ctliinicos, p. 12-5. 56. C allinicos,P. 12 1. 57. 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