Nowhere and Everywhere: the Electronic Freedom Frontier

Man is born free but everywhere he is in chains. The renowned first line of Rousseau's The Social Contract is hereby restated(1) as a classic phrase which can still be re-interpreted to describe the contemporary state of affairs. I will argue in this paper that it is the nation state that enslaves mankind, while the postmodern in general and cyberspace in particular provides an outlet of individual freedom that is difficult to challange. More specifically, I deal with the problem of space and extraterritoriality in a conflict between online civil liberties and nation states. Rousseau as practically anybody of any significance from the last 400 years or so for that matter(2) can be nominated for a place amongst the founding fathers of the project of modernity. His principal work “outlines the basis for a legitimate political order” (Wikipedia, 2005a). It is a journey from (then-) contemporary society to the beginnings of civilisation and back again into an anarchocommunist utopia. His assumption is that government as such is (a) illegitimate and (b) repressive. He first envisions a primitive state of mankind in a natural state of free competition, where everyone is in war with everyone, and life hazard is complemented by people being vitally dependent on each other. Rousseau argues that such chaotic conditions are a threat to the survival and the freedom of man. At this point actors either perish or draft a constitution termed The Social Contract which sets the rules of coexistence and cooperation. Rousseau emphasises that people have to make their decisions collectively by direct participation. Direct involvement in decision making is at the core of his utopia, which provides for order being both philosophically legitimate and practically enforcable. The former, as the decision-makers and subjects are identical, so that everyone signs to the order by their own free will. The latter, as people are expected to understand and conform to their own laws. Critics have naturally pointed out that direct decision-making scales very badly, and would be impossible to implement for a whole nation. The relevant Wikipedia article (2005a), however, notes that the advent of advanced telecommunications technology might change that. Rousseau describes his utopia in terms of sovereignity rather than government, which is an antietatian position. Rousseau's thought is a struggle for individual and social freedom, in opposition with representative democracy or the nation state. The initial task of the present paper is to rethink these ideas in the context of the political evolution of the Internet. Therefore, let's start again from the beginning, now that we know what is behind the slogan.