Paths Not Taken, Dreams Not Dreamt: A Rejoinder to Christian Fuchs on Democracy, the Internet, and Capitalism

Abstract

This paper is a rejoinder to Christian Fuchs’ “Democracy, the Internet, and Capitalism,” published in tripleC as a reply to our essay “On a Potential Paradox of Public Service Media” (2024), which was part of tripleC’s special issue “Critical Perspectives on Digital Capitalism: Theories and Praxis”. In this rejoinder, we will critically engage with open questions and unsolved contradictions of three points of discussion: the ideal of deliberative democracy in relation to the Internet, the broadcast model applied to ICTs, and the neutrality of (digital) technology.

Keywords

• democracy
• digital capitalism
• internet
• public service media and public service internet manifesto
• technology