I really wish people would stop using the term “we”. There is no “we” here. The 20th century had both world wars, Vietnam and a host of major atrocities. I’d say people who “thought people were better” were actually in the minority. Most haven’t forgotten what people are capable of and realize the shouting matches on the internet are really no big deal in the grand scheme of things.
> with the open flow of information truth and debate would flow freely and we'd be free from the blinkers traditional media and government
It seems like this is happening. It’s just not aligning with the politics of those in power. Neither the government nor mass media wanted Trump to get elected yet it happened anyway, for instance.
There’s great irony in complaining about Trump’s lack of truth then in the same breath blaming “malicious actors”. The truth is that Trump gave a voice to a large group of people that the media and other establishment didn’t want voiced. And now he’s president. I don’t know if that could have happened without the internet but I doubt it.
I see Trump as the Internet’s first president. Every other avenue was strongly against him but ultimately couldn’t shout down the “truth” of his popularity because he had internet based communication channels that mass media didn’t control.
Structurally speaking, Trump was a major victory for alternatives to mainstream media and politics. That’s why the defeated parties are desperately grasping at the “malicious actors” fabrications. They can’t handle the loss of control.
> with the open flow of information truth and debate would flow freely and we'd be free from the blinkers traditional media and government
It seems like this is happening. It’s just not aligning with the politics of those in power. Neither the government nor mass media wanted Trump to get elected yet it happened anyway, for instance.