Seemingly apolitical online communication still resembles democratic politics.

Evidence

But scholarly observers would be mistaken to conclude that the description of these symptomatic phenomena should be separated from questions of democratic theory altogether. After all, communication in semi-public spheres that have become independent is by no means depoliticized; and even where that is the case, the power of this communication to shape the worldviews of those involved is not apolitical. — Jürgen Habermas, A New Structural Transformation of the…, 47

Categorization

• XREF: Counterpoint to Adorno’s mass-culture critique — Habermas insists disintegrated public spheres remain politically consequential. — connects to: Communication is never neutral but embeds constitutive historical power relations — Dirk Braunstein, Adorno’s Critique of Political Economy, 996; The sheer act of communicating on the Web carries political weight regardless of content

Related

• The sheer act of communicating on the Web carries political weight regardless of content (similarity 0.91)
• Communication is never neutral but embeds constitutive historical power relations (similarity 0.82)
• Internet communication reflects rather than transcends offline power relations (similarity 0.81)

Broader Connections

• Communication is never neutral but embeds constitutive historical power relations #expands (0.75) — Dirk Braunstein, Adorno’s Critique of Political Economy, 996