Twitter: It Won't Start a Revolution, But It Can Feed One

With the backdrop of political unrest in Egypt, Tunisia, and Yemen, Roger Cohen mocks Evgeny Morozov's The Net Delusion as an ill-timed book in the same category as Dow 36,000, which was published just before the dot-com crash. Cohen epitomizes technology utopians when he writes, "The freedom to connect is a tool of liberation." Morozov's point is subtler, however.

His goal is to highlight the negative uses of the Internet, often by powerful governments to achieve their own nefarious ends. He doesn't deny the positive impacts of technology, but he does offer a counterweight. Morozov's real target is the simplistic, one-sided view that dissemination of communication technologies necessarily supports democracy. Technology can communicate and spread frustration, but it also amplifies government propaganda and misinformation. Technology can accelerate a revolution once it begins, but it can't feed or educate an enfeebled population to the point of rebellion (PCs for schools notwithstanding). What does this mean for policy? Technology policy should be more selectively applied. It helps most when the social balance is already in favor of a desired outcome. Otherwise, there are other conditions we might push for first -- good nutrition, viable healthcare, and universal education -- most of which are less controversial, even for dictators. And, in any case, technology-for-all policies require extreme care, as Hillary Clinton found with WikiLeaks and "Internet freedom," technology's blade is always double-edged.