INTRODUCTION: The emergence of the interactive mediaspace may offer a new model for cooperation. Although it may have disappointed many in the technology industry, the rise of interactive media, the birth of a new medium, the battle to control it and the downfall of the first victorious camp, taught us a lot about the relationship of ideas to the media through which they are disseminated.

Those who witnessed or, better, have participated in the development of the interactive mediaspace have a very new understanding of the way that cultural narratives are developed, monopolised and challenged. And this knowledge extends, by allegory and experience, to areas far beyond digital culture, to the broader challenges of our time.

As the world confronts the impact of globalism, newly revitalised threats of fundamentalism, and the emergence of seemingly irreconcilable value systems, generate a new reason to believe that living interdependently is not only possible, but preferable to the competitive individualism, ethnocentrism, nationalism and particularism that have characterised so much of late twentieth-century thinking and culture.

The values engendered by our fledgling networked culture may, in fact, help a world struggling with the impact of globalism, the lure of fundamentalism and the clash of conflicting value systems. Thanks to the actual and allegorical role of interactive technologies in our work and lives, we may now have the ability to understand many social and political constructs in very new contexts.

We may now be able to launch the kinds of conversations that change the relationship of individuals, parties, creeds and nations to one another and to the world at large. These interactive communication technologies could even help us to understand autonomy as a collective  henomenon, a shared state that emerges spontaneously and quite naturally when people are allowed to participate actively in their mutual self-interest. ...

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Douglas Rushkoff
Foreword by Douglas Alexander,MP

Contents
Acknowledgements 7
Foreword 9
1. Introduction 15
2. From Moses to modems: Demystifying the storytelling and taking control 19
3. Electronic community: From birth to backlash 25
4. The opportunity for renaissance 32
5. Networked democracy 45
6. Open source: Imagining network democracy 56
7. Conclusion 63
Notes 66

Foreword
Douglas Alexander,MP

Man is still the most extraordinary computer of all. – John F. Kennedy

The driving force of politics is, and has always been, the capacity it offers to change our lives, our communities and indeed our world. In the ebb and flow of contemporary political discourse it is sometimes easy to forget that what are at stake are the competing claims of political parties to our shared future. Yet the goal of any political
party is not solely to secure power but to do so in order to secure a future which adheres to their conception of the good society.

In defining our vision of that future the principles which inspired our forebears remain our touchstone – but the policies change to recognise the opportunities presented to each generation. To fail to identify these would make us solely a rea ctive rather than a proactive force, forever bound by events as they unfold rather than at the forefront of directing social change. ...

About Demos
Demos (www.demos.co.uk) is a greenhouse for new ideas which can improve the quality of our lives. As an independent think tank, we aim to create an open resource of knowledge and learning that operates beyond traditional party politics.

We connect researchers, thinkers and practitioners to an international network of people changing politics. Our ideas regularly influence government policy, but we also work with companies, NGOs, colleges and professional bodies.

Demos knowledge is organised around five themes, which combine to create new perspectives. The themes are democracy, learning, enterprise, quality of life and global change.

But we also understand that thinking by itself is not enough. Demos has helped to initiate a number of practical projects which are delivering real social benefit through the redesign of public services.

For Demos, the process is as important as the final product. We bring together people from a wide range of backgrounds to cross-fertilise ideas and experience. By working with Demos, our partners help us to develop sharper insight into the way ideas shape society.

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