Death of literacy; rise of digital totalitarianism

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As penmanship is dropped from grade-school curricula nationwide, we go deeper into a digital dystopia in which people "text" instead write, and "surf" instead of read, degrading the skills of literacy until all communication ultimately becomes impossible. We were lured into the "digital revolution" with the promise of greater democracy and autonomy, untill digital technology has colonized every aspect of our lives—allowing unprecedented total surveillance by the corporate state. And once the rules of the game are changed by the end of "net neutrality," we will be under a corporate tyranny—perhaps more insidious but no less complete (potentially more so) than the totalitarianisms of yester-century. Bill Weinberg takes an unflinching look.

Image: Tom Blackwell via Flickr

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