Most writing about the public sphere tends to focus on the ways that contemporary public life falls short of the democratic ideals that theoretically inform it. Thus, Habermas bemoans the structural transformation of the public sphere in the era of welfare state social democracies, the decline of rational debate and the deterioration of the media from organs of public opinion to agents of propaganda. Nancy Fraser points out the way that the norms of the bourgeois public sphere as an ideology continue to obscure and legitimize class, gender and racial inequality. By contrast, Catherine Squires argues that critics -- like Dawson-- who say the Black public sphere is in decline are ignoring the diverse and lively discourse taking place in the rich variety of Black public spheres.
What do you think about the health of public life and the public sphere -- or diverse public spheres-- in contemporary America? Do you think online platforms like blogs and social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) that consume so much of our time and attention are functioning as public spheres, perhaps even as subaltern counterpublic spheres of various kinds? And, if so, are the multiple public spheres flourishing online a good thing or is this multiplicity/fragmentation helping to promote increased political polarization and conflict?
I look forward to seeing your posts....
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