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The Net Delusion: The Dark Side of Internet Freedom Paperback – February 28, 2012

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Evgeny Morozov (Author)
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3.8 out of 5 stars 38 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 448 pages
  • Publisher: PublicAffairs; Reprint edition (February 28, 2012)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1610391063
  • ISBN-13: 978-1610391061
  • Product Dimensions: 1.8 x 5.5 x 8.1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 15 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #297,975 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 starsan interesting, but overly-pessimist, look at the relationship between Net & global politics
By Adam Thierer on January 4, 2011
Format: Hardcover
In The Net Delusion, Morozov positions himself the ultimate Net "realist," aiming to bring a dose of realpolitik to discussions about how much of a difference the Net and digital technologies make to advancing democracy and freedom. His depressing answer: Not much. Indeed, Morozov's book is one big wet blanket on the theory that "technologies of freedom" can help liberate humanity from the yoke of repressive government.

Morozov clearly relishes his skunk at the garden party role, missing few opportunities to belittle those who subscribe to such theories. If you're one of those who tinted your Twitter avatar green as an expression of solidarity with Iranian "Green Movement" dissidents, Morozov's view is that, at best, you're wasting your time and, at worst, you're aiding and abetting tyrants by engaging in a form of "slacktivism" that has little hope of advancing real regime change. The portrait he paints of technology and democracy is a dismal one in which cyber-utopian ideals of information as liberator are not just rejected but inverted. He regards such "cyber-utopian" dreams as counter-productive, even dangerous, to the advance of democracy and human freedom.

Much of the scorn he heaps on the cyber-utopians is well-deserved, although I think there are far fewer of them around than Morozov imagines. Nonetheless, there certainly is a bit too much Pollyanna-ish hyper-optimism at play in debates about the Net's role in advancing liberation of those peoples who are being subjected to tyrannical rule across the planet.

But Morozov simply doesn't know when to quit. His relentless and highly repetitive critique goes well overboard.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsAn Excellent, Realistic Take on Internet Freedom
By Kevin D on January 6, 2011
Format: Hardcover
The Net Delusion by Evgeny Morozov is an instant-classic in the field of technology studies that will be of interest to both serious scholars of the global Internet and those interested in making sense of the widespread excitement about using technology for advancing goals such as individual freedom.

Morozov's starting point is the belief, promoted by everyone from world leaders to prominent bloggers, that the Internet is an emancipatory agent. Millions of dollars have been spent guided by the belief that if unfettered Internet access is made available globally, especially in repressive countries, democracy will prevail because citizens will be empowered to speak freely, coordinate politically, etc. Morozov convincingly argues that the truth is far more nuanced and difficult. Although much of the rhetoric and policy in this area comes from the belief that technology has been an essential tool in promoting individual freedom throughout history, most notably being arguments about samizdat's role in ending the Cold War, Morozov provides a very readable explanation of how this metaphorical thinking is misguided.

Instead, he argues that the Internet is subject to the power of the state and therefore is largely impotent as a mechanism for promoting democracy. He shows that throughout the world, the Internet is a) more likely to be used for entertainment purposes, b) censored in ways that are not easily surmountable, c) used a tool for propaganda by both governments and individuals that are not pro-West, and d) used for spying on dissidents.

The Net Delusion is thoroughly entertaining throughout, but that doesn't stop it from digging into some very serious subjects.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsThe Net Delusion
By Rolf Dobelli HALL OF FAMETOP 1000 REVIEWER on December 22, 2011
Format: Hardcover
Social studies scholar Evgeny Morozov may occasionally be cranky and stylistically conflicted, but his original arguments provide refreshing insights. He debunks nearly religious beliefs about the intrinsically positive power of the Internet and total information access. Morozov demonstrates how propagating this optimistic view of the web drowns out more subtle positions and keeps governmental and societal attention focused on less meaningful activities. getAbstract recommends this worthy polemic to those engaged in cyberculture, those trying to decipher cultural change, and those dedicated to understanding and promoting freer societies.
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3.0 out of 5 starsWAY too many words, but a thoughtful exposition of the subject
By Lemas Mitchell on May 1, 2013
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
This book's title is obviously a play on words and echoes Richard Dawkins' "The God Delusion." I don't exactly mind the fact that this author is so long-winded because his prose is very easy to follow. He does overstate his case a bit, but what I come away with is:

1. New terms. Internet-centrism (don't try to reinterpret every single problem in terms of how it can be solved by the internet) and cyber-utopianism (don't imagine that the internet will lead to every single perfect outcome just because you think it will). Samizdat? (I'd never heard of that word before. But it is in the Oxford Dictionary.)

2. The use of the internet as a tool can go both ways. So, interest groups can learn to organize with it. But whatever government that happens to be in power in whatever place can also learn to use that tool in its own service.

3. McDonald's is a quintessentially American invention and it is everywhere. And no one sees it as such because the State Department of the US government does not make any connections or try to use it as a tool. The internet is the same way, and it was neutral at some point....but companies that provide internet services can be seen as an instrument of subversion if the State Department tries to enlist their services on its behalf. (Ever wondered why Twitter and Youtube are blocked in China? You don't need to wonder anymore after reading the first chapter of this book.)

4. The Iranian "Revolution" was completely fictional. Or, the presentation of it was the composite of a lot of wishful thinking.

There is a lot of what we (this reader) already knew:

1. There are a lot of unintended consequences to any policy.Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 starsA great study of a complex subject

Compelling, instructive and deeply researched, The Net Delusion courageously challenges the perception that the Internet has wrought only positive change and calls into question... Read more

Published 2 months ago by John H. Matthews
5.0 out of 5 starsA provacative book that makes you think about the Internet and its...

This book will make you think. Popular culture in the West today seems to automatically assume that the internet and the information revolution will be a force for good; that it... Read more

Published 10 months ago by ckdjou
3.0 out of 5 starsGood read, but it starts to fall apart as the author gets lazy with...

I saw this book on a reading list and got it on Kindle to see what it was about. Morozov does a great job opening the reader's eyes to the pitfalls in thinking that the internet... Read more

Published 12 months ago by Benjamin A
4.0 out of 5 starsBecoming Entangled in the Net

A favorite subject of my reading is modern technology and how it is rapidly changing everything about human society. Read more

Published 14 months ago by Phillip Skaga
5.0 out of 5 starshe's like Jaron Lanier

Morozov is right on target with his analysis of 21st century soft authoritarianism. In some ways, he's like Jaron Lanier, but more of an internationalist. Read more

Published 15 months ago by Kenneth M. Sarocky
4.0 out of 5 starsGood read. I learned a lot

Good read. I learned a lot. I bit long for me.

Published 16 months ago by Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 starsI like reading. just find the synopsis ironic

I like reading. just find the synopsis ironic, because i bet the Author did not see the uprising #UmbrellaRevolution in China coming in 2014.

Published 16 months ago by Kiefier Hunter
5.0 out of 5 starsThe Internet. Menschliches, allzumenschliches

This book will open your eyes to the fatuous marketing of Twitter_Facebook_Google and other internet tools as primary political drivers toward liberal democracy. Read more

Published 22 months ago by Reading
4.0 out of 5 starsPointed Critisism of Techo-Optimism

Prone to pithy codas—"It's as if the Mad Men have set up an office in Beijing"—as well as name and theory dropping (presumably those who still have 24x7 Internet access... Read more

Published on March 8, 2014 by Jeremy Mates
4.0 out of 5 starsI was disarmed

I was primed not to like this book, but Morozov disarmed me by writing an intelligent critique not of the Internet per so, although he has lots of negative things to say about it,... Read more

Published on February 20, 2014 by Jeffrey Hart

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