Astroturfing Infotopia

Cass Sunstein details intrinsic flaws in group discussion, even in ideal deliberation, and draws attention to prediction markets and information-aggregation devices on the internet as supplements to discussion. I respond that the supposed flaws do not affect ideal deliberation, and that the evaluation of group discussion is too pessimistic: there are alternative hypotheses to account for his findings, and there are doubts about their external validity. Also, I contend that his evaluation of prediction markets and internet devices is too optimistic. The markets have failed miserably, and the internet is vulnerable to astroturfing by the powerful and wealthy. Keywords: discussion; deliberation; prediction markets; information aggregation; power.
Introduction The deliberative approach reigns in democratic theory. Yet, the institutional recommendations of deliberative democracy do not go far beyond the injunction to increase group discussion, in its sites, in [...]