REMOTE-CONTROL - POLITICS, TECHNOLOGY AND ELECTRONIC DEMOCRACY

Recent interest in the Internet has revived the debate about 'electron ic democracy'. On one side, politicians and political activists talk e nthusiastically about the possibility of a virtual polity in which the ideal of Ancient Greece is recreated; on the other side are those who fear for the destruction of democracy. This article begins by examini ng critically these competing claims. It argues that the positions ado pted do not, however, do justice to the issues involved. The debate is not just about competing visions of democracy; it is also about theor ies of technical change. The article concludes by arguing for a richer approach to the issue of 'electronic democracy', one in which the cul tural character of technology and of political argument are more fully recognized.