will the internet ultimately lead to anarchy throughout the US and the World?

Question

have u noticed how rotten people have gotten these days? it seems like they just say whatever the hell they want with no remorse. i attribute a lot of this behavior to the internet. people get used to talking disrespectfully anonymously, and soon it becomes apart of their personality in real life. I'm getting very worried about what might happen to us if we continue down this road. It starts with words, and then progresses to actions, and i think we are already getting to that point where we feel we can do anything we want without consequence.

how does everyone else feel about this?

Well if u think about it, the internet kinda already is an anarchical society.

judy, i think u have it all wrong. people make things more personal than ever before. they aren't fed up, they just hate. Hate is the first step towards major anarchy.

everyone has a slightly different definition of anarchy. to me it means people do things with disregard to laws set out by higher authorities

mannz, i understand your argument, but the more abundant this stuff becomes in real life, the harder it will be to stop it (as it already is on the internet). especially if it's a massive group (in possibly billions). people don't want to be governed anymore because they are so used to the freedom's they have on the internet. The internet, as i've said before, is basically an anarchical society; people rarely follow the laws of the internet (no matter how petty or serious) and really not much is being or can be done about it. what % of internet crime do u think gets stopped? probably 3-5% (when u factor in illegal downloading, bootlegging, hacking, child pornography, etc.) well since very little internet crime is stopped It's just a very scary thought that this kind of activity is beginning to bleed off into the real world. When illegal activities occur more frequently and with greater impact, the harder it will be to stop it. I could be wrong, but this is where i see it going.

Answer 1

Wow! It's interesting how people can look at the same circumstances and see completely different pictures. I can't even begin to guess where the other responder gets the idea that the Internet leads to totalitarianism. If anything, it does the opposite.

I recently answered another question arguing that technology (and though I didn't say specifically, the Internet especially) is leading to the decline of states (which is what anarchy means). Read that response here:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AoFL7mNn8bUAK6igDYJVqd3ty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20071018055113AAOVqcJ&show=7#profile-info-G2UabS1Uaa

Your concern really is with the decline in manners, if I understand correctly. This is different than anarchy (which is not in itself a bad thing). It is certainly a problem. With the internet, it is true that people tend to speak their minds more because of apparent anonymity. I'm not sure whether it is translating into face to face relations. But it could be true as you say.

On the other hand, the internet is allowing people to get to know each other and connect in ways never before possible. When (for example) the people of Iran and the United States know each personally outside of government intermediaries, war will be much more difficult for the politicians to foist upon us.

Answer 2

No, the internet will not lead to anarchy throughout the world. First of all, anarchy doesn't work, because society soon devolves into violence, and also humans operate in groups, so in the lack of a government, individuals would try to form one. However, in the spirit of the question, I will assume that anarchy would be a tenable political philosophy (in practice.)

First of all, you claim that people "just say whatever the hell they want," which I think is true to a large extent. However, I think that this has potential to be beneficial and not harmful. Under the condition that it is done in a responsible manner (i.e. no ranting/raving/pointless hate speech), which is, I concede, a large assumption, a more truthful and larger array of views can be more conducive of intellectual conversation. However, the reality is that much of the time people do act disrespectfully and that this does transfer into other, off-line aspects of life. This indeed has made society more callous and disrespectful.

However, I disagree with you regarding the gap between words and actions. It is true now, and has always been, that words can and sometimes do translate into actions. People have, by and large, (in America) always been able to say whatever they want - barring incitement of violence and the like (more on this in a bit) - without consequence. When these words morphed into harmful actions (I assume the actions to which you refer are of a harmful nature) the law has always been clear that those are to be dealt with by the implementation of the appropriate punishment. The proliferation of indifferent/rude behavior has not and will not change with. As long as their is the law to punish unlawful behavior there will always be a consequence. Barring some unknown factor this alone will certainly not result in the overthrow of the US or any other government.

EDIT: I just saw your comment about the definition of anarchy, as people disregarding laws set by the government. This definition is can be incorporated into my argument because as long as the federal government remains powerful (again, barring any outside force which has not been accounted for in either the question or the answer) then even if people ignore the law, they will still have to face the consequences of their actions.

Answer 3

One can only hope so... The way the US and the "World" Govs run things lately is to try and put its peoples into as much fear as possible in hopes of dismotivating them into complacency... If this is how Govs think and act now I cant wait to see the way they think and act 5-10 years from now... NOT!

Anarchy would at least be a chance to rebuild some forms of Gov that are corrupt and would at least give peoples a chance for a better situation. But if things remain the same way imo the Govs will just keep collecting more and more power over the people as they take away the ability for its peoples to fight back vs the Gov. Like look at whats happening now. The Gov is building weapons that can take out huge crouds of people without harming electronics/buildings while its also making it harder and harder for peoples to get guns/weapons to fight back if they ever do decide its time to remove freedoms... Basicaly the world will probably hit a turning point if the Govs keep forcing this issue and it will probably be a million man march vs a 1000 armed gaurds were the million men get slaughtered in seconds and the 1000 gaurds get the spoils of war... I guess the best way to stop this from happening would be to put a hault on technological/military advancements untill our society could cauch up moraly and ethicaly to whats going on. In that case things would probably get turned around 180 to the point where worlds militarys would be reduced in power and that'll probably never happen lol.

Answer 4

What planet are you on? Anarchy already exists and has for a long time. People aren't rotten, their fed up. Too much bias in this world. Do you have any idea how many people don't even have internet because they can't even afford a pc.

Answer 5

the individuals whose artwork is being pirated do not agree. carry out somewhat analyze, possibly starting up with a dictionary. Anarchy skill the shortcoming of regulation, no longer extreme regulation (in case you opt for to verify this as extreme). Anarchy is at the same time as everybody can do something they opt for, would makes top. A society in accordance to regulation is the different.

Answer 6

People are already working on a new version of the Internet, one that is faster, more secure, etc... But it may take a while for that for be implemented.

The original internet was made for simple text messages between companies.

Answer 7

I think the internet has its downsides and upsides.

It is extremely vital for people running businesses and endless reasons.

However, it has caused an endless number of problems, like identity theft, pornography, things like that.

But I don't think it will actually destroy the government. The government has kept it in check so far.

Answer 8

Uber I felt uber in1984 when this question was originally asked.
Hmm, you are American, no thoughts of humanity just your (American) consequences.
Edit Web cop eats icy poles and speaks rubbish, internet began with text messages LOL. It was dz Germans or the Swedes about that, there.

Answer 9

I am thinking not...
yes I do see the change in people tho and their rotteness..I dont blame the internet tho' i blame society..but when you go start blaming you are judging and that not my insentive for today

Answer 10

not anarchy, totalitarianism