TY - JOUR ID - 59869 TI - Online Community and Democracy JO - Journal of Cyberspace Studies JA - JCSS LA - en SN - 2588-5499 AU - Feenberg, Andrew AD - Professor, Canada Research Chair in Philosophy of Technology, School of Communication, Simon Fraser University, Canada Y1 - 2017 PY - 2017 VL - 1 IS - 1 SP - 37 EP - 60 KW - online community KW - Democracy KW - the information model KW - the consumption model KW - the community model DO - N2 - The debate over the contribution of the Internet to democracy is farfrom settled. Some point to the empowering effects of online discussionand fund raising on recent electoral campaigns in the US to argue thatthe Internet will restore the public sphere. Others claim that the Internetis just a virtual mall, a final extension of global capitalism into everycorner of our lives. This paper argues for the democratic thesis withsome qualifications. The most important contribution of the Internetto democracy is not necessarily its effects on the electoral process butrather its ability to assemble a public around technical networks thatenroll individuals scattered over wide geographical areas. Medicalpatients, video game players, musical performers, and many otherpublics have emerged on the Internet with surprising consequences. UR - https://jcss.ut.ac.ir/article_59869.html L1 - https://jcss.ut.ac.ir/article_59869_3cb0d2d350f8fdfb29ca921711e669b5.pdf ER -