Digital participation platforms mask central control within antipolitical parties
Evidence
Italy’s Movimento 5 Stelle showed itself more consistent than any other antipolitical movement in embracing digital tools as a means of addressing the question of institutionalization. Grillo, who consistently stressed that his movement/party was “neither left nor right,” sought, alongside the late Gianroberto Casaleggio and his son Davide, to promote online participation. They developed the Rousseau platform, where supporters could debate political proposals and vote on the party’s program in a spirit of grassroots democracy. Yet M5S rank and file quickly discovered that the agenda was largely set by a small inner circle, if not by Grillo himself: when two politicians proposed a loosening of immigration laws, they were publicly reprimanded by Grillo, despite a majority of members having voted in favor. — Anton Jäger, Hyperpolitics, 196
Categorization
Category: Contrarian or Surprising Claims
- XREF: Echoes the chapter’s broader theme that antipolitical movements reproduce the very elite capture they protest — and foreshadows the hyperpolitics conclusion.
- SHARE: Would interest a friend working on digital democracy/participatory platform critiques.