ABSTRACT
The public sphere is ideally geared towards the ‘emancipatory’ interest of human subjects. In Habermas’s schematic representation of knowledge, human desire for emancipation from any kind of unnecessary domination is credited with generating critical knowledge.Cybercommunities across divisions of gender, class, nationality, etc., are at a disadvantage proportionate to their range in so far as their commitment level is concerned. Making use of the Internet with an awareness of its limitations can be highly profitable, but offering it as a substitute for the lifeworld and its institutions is stretching the argument too far. Instead of serving a purpose or a cause, it can prove detrimental to the institutions based on rationality, including the critical space of a public sphere. Brignall argues that the Internet is a more useful tool for social control than for social revolution. Controlling minds is the ultimate form of colonization and that has become a real possibility, thanks to digital technology.
