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John Stuart Mill's On Liberty in the Digital Communications Age

On Liberty by J. S. Mill is on democracy, limitations to political power, as well as the shaping of modern democratic systems. This chapter aims to review a classic of political science in light of the current developments in the digital age and thus extract new light on the impact the new digital communication technologies have on the relationship between the state and the citizens around the world. The widespread use of social media and digital communications will have and is having deep and unavoidable impacts on the relationship between the state and citizens. However, such impacts raise both hopes of a better future for democracies and dictatorships as well as concerns of privacy, freedom of speech and thought, consistency of public policy, quality of governmental services, and even the legitimacy and lifetime of regimes. The theoretical tools of classical political science may, however, aid us in better understanding such processes and steering change for the best.