The Internet and the Third Estate

Ben Thompson, likening Facebook to the printing press:

“... the printing press effectively overthrew the First Estate, leading to the establishment of nation-states and the creation and empowerment of a new nobility[, the Second Estate]. The implication of overthrowing the Second Estate, via the empowerment of commoners[, the Third Estate], is almost too radical to imagine.”

A fascinating perspective. The First Estate did not lose control without a fight — and a great deal of complaining — and it seems the Second Estate will follow suit. Ben made this point back in 2016 in The Voters Decide, but did a much better job in here.

Since this has become a politics-adjacent post, I have found Mathew Stoller’s BIG newsletter quite interesting over the last few weeks, too. As promised, I continue to update Keeping Up with Current Events to reflect the list of websites and newsletters I use to stay well-informed; Mat and Ben have both made the list.