ABSTRACT
This chapter asks: How can Marx’ theory of alienation and Habermas’ theory of the structural transformation of the public sphere be combined for advancing the understanding of democracy today?
The chapter builds on Habermas’ concept of the public sphere. It relates Habermas’ concept to Marx’ notion of alienation. A fusion of these two concepts is used for showing that digital capitalism and capitalist social media do not form a public sphere but rather constitute a danger to democracy. In contrast, a public service Internet is a manifestation of the digital public sphere and digital democracy.
Internet platforms such as Facebook and Google, which dominate the social media sector, are among the largest corporations in the world. At the same time, social media have become an integral part of politics and public communication. World politicians like Donald Trump have a total of more than 100 million followers on various Internet platforms and spread propaganda and false reports about these media. The Arab Spring and the various Occupy movements have shown that social media like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are important in social movements. No politician, no party, no NGO, and no social movement can do without profiles on social media today. This raises the question of the connection between social media and the public. This article sheds light on this question.
Section 10.2 presents a concept of the public sphere as a concept of critique. Section 10.3 uses the concept of the public sphere to criticise capitalist Internet platforms. Section 10.4 deals with the potentials of a public service Internet.
