Emergent Democracy

Version 3.2. Originally published on blog and wiki and then as a chapter in the book, Extreme Democracy. This version edited by Jon Lebkowsky.This essay argues that a new form of democracy — an “Emergent Democracy” — will develop as a result of the use of Internet communication tools and platforms such as blogs. The essay explores a variety of tools available and explores the history of democracy, modern experiments with democracy and how these tools might support democracy. The essay also explores concerns as these new tools emerge. These issues include concerns such as privacy and the societally negative use of these tools by corporations, totalitarian regimes and terrorists