Slashdot Mirror
Disintermediation and Politics
code_rage writes "Everett Ehrlich (capsule biography) writes an article in the Washington Post that examines Howard Dean's effective use of the internet to create a political organization. He says that Dean has created a 'virtual' party that has taken over the only remaining asset of value, the brand name of the Democratic party. His analysis refers to the theory of Nobel-winning economist Ronald Coase: that the size of an organization is determined by the cost of gathering information. Ehrlich's article makes some predictions about the effect that Dean's strategy will have on the political system." In a related story, there's an mp3 interview with Dick Morris, along with a couple of (appropriately) blog posts about it.
is using Slashdot as his personal political advertising board. Sims is a hardcore communist, and Dean is the only semi-communist contender with a chance of actually winning. Therefore, Sims has decided that Dean will be the next President, and is using every bit of power he has to see that occur.
This is not News for Nerds. This is not even Stuff that Matters. This is Sims taking even more license of his position as "editor". I highly suggest that Slashdot stop posting editorials and get back to posting real news.
Isn't this exactly what ESR said in The Cathedral and the Bazaar?
If you've not read it before, please follow the link above and spend a few minutes there. It is a must-read for anyone who wishes to understand the free / open source software development model, and why it works so well.