Democracy advocates are often caught off guard by fast-moving trends, especially technological ones. These trends are hard enough to track individually, but transformative, and often disruptive, moments tend to happen when they intersect, like how personal computers, credit cards, and the internet combined to upend retail and, in turn, journalism. This paper maps where today’s major trends intersect, identifying the risks and opportunities these collisions pose for democracy, with a focus on two powerful, conflicting forces: “subconscious technologies” and “conscious engagement.”
This paper also pushes back against the resignation that often surrounds discussions of democracy’s decline. Rather than simply lamenting falling trust and rising anti-establishment sentiment, it uses expert interviews and systemic analysis to understand how these trends connect, and how we might redesign democracy to meet the moment.
This paper was originally a project from Public Agenda created in partnership with the Democracy Fund. It was authored by Matt Leighninger and Quixada Moore-Vissing
