Before I start this blog, I just want to first say that my view of politics in general, and especially Australian politics, is one of not quite disgust or hatred but something close to both of them. This will probably show throughout my blog as I have a somewhat bleak and cynical view of how the government and people in power are "helping" the country.
The main topics for this week surrounding old and new media in politics, I find, aligns with my views as stated above. The first article "Against Transparency" by Lessig really outlined why I personally feel that the politics involved with people in power are almost completely untrustworthy and without an ulterior motive. Just one of the many examples Lessig gives, where he states "For more than three decades we have known the names of everyone who gives significant amounts to a federal campaign. Or at least we have "known" them". He continues "to this day, practical matters work against practical access.", furthering this with the example of the Senate's (U.S.) way of reporting this to the FEC through print, then electronically and then print again. What I'm trying to get at is that when looking at the government closely, which is already overly difficult, they seem to make a number of overly stringent rules for redundant areas completely halting any attempts at efficiency as well as the numerous signs pointing to corruption making it difficult to believe anything they say or reveal to us as truth.
On to Lessig's main point in the article against transparency (sorry but lame pun intended), he questions whether we truly want to see what lurks behind the shadows of politics, and "do we really want the world that they righteously envisage?". His example of the "climate bill" where committee members who voted yes received an average of about ten times as much as those who voted no, highlights the nature of those that govern us. The modern government has seen a dramatic change with the introduction of transparency laws, made easier with the current advancement of networking technologies like the internet. There have been numerous accusations, inquiries and "political deaths" throughout the course of increased transparency, and it remains to be seen whether the "transparency movement" will truly result in a 'better' government as well as a cleaner one.
Main References:
Lessig, Lawrence (2010) ‘Against Transparency: The perils of openness in government.’, available online at < http://www.tnr.com/article/books-and-arts/against-transparency?page=0,0 >
Styles, Catherine (2009) “A Government 2.0 idea – first, make all the functions visible’, available online at < http://catherinestyles.com/2009/06/28/a-government-2-0-idea/ >
No comments:
Post a Comment