First published in Journal of Contemporary Studies, San Francisco (1985)

“Technological innovation is manifestly altering the terms of social dialogue and political debate and radically decentralizing communication. This is particularly true in authoritarian systems, which rely on centralized control of communications to maintain their political control. The infiltration of personal computers into Eastern Europe, for example, is obstructing if not virtually nullifying efforts by the totalitarian regimes to control access to information. The consequent erosion of political authority is becoming increasingly evident. These mass movements have found dynamic opportunities for analysis and transmission of “freedom’s raw material”, or, “information”. The decentralization of information empowers marginal groups. There are, consequently, vast implications for how individuals conceive their roles in society.”