Abstract
Recent interest in the Internet has revived the debate about `electronic democracy'. On one side, politicians and political activists talk enthusiastically about the possibility of a virtual polity in which the ideal of Ancient Greece is recreated; on the other side are those who fear for the destruction of democracy. This article begins by examining critically these competing claims. It argues that the positions adopted do not, however, do justice to the issues involved. The debate is not just about competing visions of democracy; it is also about theories of technical change. The article concludes by arguing for a richer approach to the issue of `electronic democracy', one in which the cultural character of technology and of political argument are more fully recognized.

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