Hi all -
I'm a long-time member of DailyKos (ID number 651) and, after way too long, am now in the midst of pursuing a Masters Degree in Public Administration. The summer quarter has been spent discussing matters of philosophy and ethics vis a vis the world of politics and government.
It didn't take long for my instructor to notice that I had a penchant for things political and electronic. She's challenged me to reconcile the electronic developments in political dialogue with an ideal notion of the "Relational Self".
In order to write my final paper on this subject, I would like to enlist your help.
As I understand it (and I welcome your deeper interpretation, as I'm still developing a proficiency in this subject area), the Relational Self is one who believes in the Ethic of Care - a communal being, one who believes in the Lakoff "Nurturant Parent" model of Don't Think of an Elephant. The Relational Self believes in the Polis Model of community organization as defined by Deborah Stone in Policy Paradox: The Study of Political Decision Making, the primary text in my course.
Stone offers up this definition of Polis:
Polis, the Greek word for city-state, seems a fitting name for the essential political society because it conjures up an entity small enough to have very simple forms of organization yet large enough to embody the elements of politics.
...
- It is a community, or perhaps multiple communities, with ideas, images, will, and effort quite apart from individual goals and behavior.
- It has a public interest, if only as an idea about which people fight.
- Most of its policy problems are commons problems.
- Influence is pervasive, and the boundary between influence and coercion is always contested.
- Cooperation is as important as competition.
- Loyalty is the norm.
- Groups and organizations are the building blocks.
- Information is interpretive, incomplete and strategic.
- It is governed by the laws of passion as well as the laws of matter.
In contrast:
In searching for the elements of politics, it is helpful to use the market model as a foil because of its predominance in contemporary political discussion.
...
A market can be simply defined as a social system in which individuals pursue their own welfare by exchanging things with others whenever trades are mutually beneficial.
This text is over 400 pages long, and my brief overview does not do it justice. It does, however, set the stage for my work as it relates to you.
As I've been involved in the Daily Kos community and the Netroots in varying degrees since registering my account, I've found that this form of online political engagement can affect the Polis in three major ways:
- Daily Kos is a place that engages once-disconnected individuals and, through orienting them to the Polis through dialogue, community-building and information, enables them to more fully become Relational Selves.
- Daily Kos is a place where Relational Selves can organize with like-minded individuals to help solve the problems of the commons - and not always through the market model. Some organization is at the macro level (across the entire site), but often there are micro-level subgroups related to a specific issue or issues.
- The Daily Kos community can influence the larger political debate - both online and offline.
My current hypothesis is that Daily Kos is most effective with the first, slightly less so with the second and even less so with the third. I fully recognize that the overall influence of Daily Kos in all three areas has been on a steep uphill climb since 2003, but the explosive growth of the number of Daily Kos accounts alone suggests that the site is a powerful gateway for both the politically curious and motivated.
I hope to weave personal testimonials and perspectives into the paper to either prove or disprove my hypothesis. I believe that my opinion alone is less substantial than those of many such opinions. Thus, what I'd like to ask from you is this:
1. Share your personal story. How did you get involved in Daily Kos? What do you get out of Daily Kos? What affiliations have you developed since joining Daily Kos? What Polis-building activities have you engaged in as a result of Daily Kos? In sum, how has Daily Kos affected you in becoming that Relational Self?
2. Share your perspective on Daily Kos in the larger sense. How do you feel that the Daily Kos community has influenced political dialogue beyond the electronic realm? Where is it most effective on that front, and where is it least effective? How has it evolved over time?
I've been searching the archives for answers to the questions that I have posed, but any such search will inevitably miss something. Whatever thoughts you can offer on either front would be greatly appreciated.
And, as I'm posting this on a Sunday - not the highest-traffic day of the week on Daily Kos - I'd appreciate any recommendations that you can offer to keep this topic alive.
And who knows...this actually could be an interesting diary. I think hearing your stories and perspective could be fascinating. Thank you in advance for your thoughts!