Infomocracy
I picked up Infomocracy because it seemed like an interesting concept. Especially in light of the recent election. It takes place in the not-too-distant future, where access to the internet has revolutionized elections and the way we're governed.
The world has been split into districts known as centenals. Each contains 100,000 people, or they did when they were first drawn up. It wasn't clear how that evolves over time. Regardless, each centenal votes on its own government, with elections held every 10 years. The borders have been opened worldwide, making it trivial to travel from one centenel to the next. This is especially important in big cities, which might contain dozens of competing governments.
Some of these governments are remnants of those that exist today, emphasizing heritage and tradition. Others have naturally grown out of corporations like Coca-cola and Sony. And there are new, smaller ones, trying to gain footholds. It's a fascinating system and one that seems like it could be an improvement on our current one, especially with it's emphasis on globalization and open borders.
The book takes place during an election cycle. Elections are aided by the theoretically impartial Information, a sort of combination of wikipedia and the news which isn't all that different from the internet as we experience it today. Except that all of the information is vetted. Which, of course, makes very little difference in a world where any information, including "alternative facts", is freely available and people's streams are more and more curated to confirm their biases. Just because the truth is out there doesn't mean that people will seek it out or believe it.
What makes this book interesting is that the protagonists are fighting to uphold this status quo while shady figures are attempting to topple the system, either to return to the "good old days" or to seize complete power for themselves. It isn't often that the system is presented as worth preserving, and there are certainly flaws with this one. But the book acknowledges those, argues that any system would have it's flaws, and makes a case that a system like this should be given a chance. That it can become more fair and equitable than the governments of the past. If only people would educate themselves.
As much as I loved the concept, the characters were more or less forgettable. There's a romance that neither adds nor detracts from the main plot, though it is refreshing that the two consenting adults are adults about the whole thing. And I liked that America was basically written off as being still stuck in a two-party system, despite the wealth of options. Most of the action takes place in Asia.
Overall it was an interesting book that provided some fun food for thought. It wasn't my favorite ever, but it wasn't terrible or forgettable either. It was nice to see some modern science fiction that is essentially optimistic, pushing humanity closer to a utopia than a dystopia.
The world has been split into districts known as centenals. Each contains 100,000 people, or they did when they were first drawn up. It wasn't clear how that evolves over time. Regardless, each centenal votes on its own government, with elections held every 10 years. The borders have been opened worldwide, making it trivial to travel from one centenel to the next. This is especially important in big cities, which might contain dozens of competing governments.
Some of these governments are remnants of those that exist today, emphasizing heritage and tradition. Others have naturally grown out of corporations like Coca-cola and Sony. And there are new, smaller ones, trying to gain footholds. It's a fascinating system and one that seems like it could be an improvement on our current one, especially with it's emphasis on globalization and open borders.
The book takes place during an election cycle. Elections are aided by the theoretically impartial Information, a sort of combination of wikipedia and the news which isn't all that different from the internet as we experience it today. Except that all of the information is vetted. Which, of course, makes very little difference in a world where any information, including "alternative facts", is freely available and people's streams are more and more curated to confirm their biases. Just because the truth is out there doesn't mean that people will seek it out or believe it.
What makes this book interesting is that the protagonists are fighting to uphold this status quo while shady figures are attempting to topple the system, either to return to the "good old days" or to seize complete power for themselves. It isn't often that the system is presented as worth preserving, and there are certainly flaws with this one. But the book acknowledges those, argues that any system would have it's flaws, and makes a case that a system like this should be given a chance. That it can become more fair and equitable than the governments of the past. If only people would educate themselves.
As much as I loved the concept, the characters were more or less forgettable. There's a romance that neither adds nor detracts from the main plot, though it is refreshing that the two consenting adults are adults about the whole thing. And I liked that America was basically written off as being still stuck in a two-party system, despite the wealth of options. Most of the action takes place in Asia.
Overall it was an interesting book that provided some fun food for thought. It wasn't my favorite ever, but it wasn't terrible or forgettable either. It was nice to see some modern science fiction that is essentially optimistic, pushing humanity closer to a utopia than a dystopia.
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