Home | Databases | WorldLII | Search | Feedback Edited Legal Collections Data

Salzberger, Eli M.; Elkin-Koren, Niva --- "The effects of cyberspace on the economic theory of the state" [2005] ELECD 104; in Marciano, Alain; Josselin, Jean-Michel (eds), "Law and the State" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2005)

Book Title: Law and the State

Editor(s): Marciano, Alain; Josselin, Jean-Michel

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781843768005

Section: Chapter 3

Section Title: The effects of cyberspace on the economic theory of the state

Author(s): Salzberger, Eli M.; Elkin-Koren, Niva

Number of pages: 42

Extract:

3. The effects of cyberspace on the
economic theory of the state*
Eli M. Salzberger and Niva Elkin-Koren

1 INTRODUCTION

The Western world celebrates two centuries of liberal democracy in theory
and about one century of liberal democracy in practice. Concepts such as
majority decision making, representative government, human rights, the
rule of law and separation of powers have become self-evident. Our debates
concerning the good state and good government take these concepts as pre-
suppositions, which do not require additional justification or reasoning.
Indeed, we live in the paradigm of liberalism.1 The term `paradigm' was
used by Thomas Kuhn, when he put forward a theory of the development
of natural science (1962). But his description of the evolution of science
can be extended to the way we think about normative issues, about prac-
tical laws rather than merely theoretical ones.
The current political theory discourse is conducted within the boundaries
of the liberal paradigm. The current debate is based on a set of presuppos-
itions, which was left unchecked through the last 100 years. The paradigm
of liberalism, which is the result of the Enlightenment, as well as techno-
logical breakthroughs of the modern era (such as the invention of the print-
ing press), has been shaken by the technological revolution of the last
decade. This chapter examines whether cyberspace requires a paradigmatic
shift in our thinking about collective action, the public sphere and the state.
Cyberspace may affect the normative and positive economic analysis of
...