Internet ‘enclaves’ undermine deliberative politics

As information seekers increasingly gather in like-minded online forums they are making themselves, and the United States, more vulnerable to destructive "group think," according to a book released in paperback earlier this year.

Cass Sunstein's book, "Republic.com 2.0" says Internet enclave-forming threatens to undermine political deliberation with ideological rigidity and polarization. It is a followup to Sunstein's 2001 book "Republic.com".

There are also some ways Internet usage could reverse the downward spiral, such as online debates and emphasis on non-partisan information gatherers as sources for news.

Sunstein is a Harvard law professor and administrator of The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the Office of Management and Budget under President Barack Obama.

Here's an excerpt from a review of the book: "But a study of 1,400 liberal and conservative blogs found the vast majority of bloggers link only to like-minded blogs. Worse, another study showed that when "liberal" bloggers comment on "conservative" blog posts, and vice-versa, a plurality of comments simply cast contempt on opposing views. "Only a quarter of cross-ideological posts involve genuine substantive discussion. In this way, real deliberation is often occurring within established points of view, but only infrequently across them," Sunstein reports."