Thought experiment: A different kind of constitutional convention is called, not the kind red states have been trying to engineer. One devoted to redesigning democracy to be memetic contagion resistant. What could it ask of Facebook and Twitter to protect Democracy 2.0?
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But free speech + paid reach. Now we’re talking. Democracy 2.0 as freemium democracy. One vote, one voice, whatever dollars you earn. You want to infect others with your thoughts? They have to either trust you personally (opt-in audiences) or you pay to reach them.
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But not paid reach like the advertising market. Not paid reach as in Putin buying voices to mash like/RT buttons at wholesale prices. No. Paid reach as in: each of us verified humans has to pay out of pocket to like/RT/share. WoM is no longer free.
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I think this will do it. It’s also a mechanism that’s understandable and governable by tech-illiterate politicians assisted by bureaucrats. Moving “reach prices” around is like setting interest rates. So simple even economists could run it. Policy goal: no mobs.
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That’s it. Not super complex. May not even need constitutional amendments. Does not affect first amendment since we’re not touching speech, only reach. Can include traditional media too somehow. Talk radio, TV, newspapers. They are slaves to RTs and likes too now anyway
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Hmm. Wild idea. You could connect money and reach. Make likes and RTs (“proof of distance”) the *basis* for currency itself somehow. Abuse leads to inflation and makes prices go up. A blockchain based on quality of public life. Both too much and too little talk are costly.
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Second wild idea. Mobs are actually institutional black holes. If you take Coasean transaction costs theory of the firm, what happens when you lower transaction costs inside a higher-cost boundary? You get an organization. Pay more to get in, pay less to transact once you’re in.
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What happens when you lower the cost of both to near zero? You get a social black hole. A degenerate institution that can produce nothing, but can eat everything in sight.
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For those new to these debates and conversations, read
@noUpside series The Feed to get up to speed. Then follow her writing on Wired and elsewhere for the play by play evolution.https://www.ribbonfarm.com/series/the-feed/ …Show this thread
End of conversation
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