Internet and Participatory Democracy

The content of the Internet includes and replicates that of previous media such as radio, television, print, and cinema.  In contrast, its Form is a direct descendant of that of the telephone, as is plainly manifest in its early dial-up mode.  The significant characteristic of that Form is its combination of simultaneity and interactivity.  Thus, on that basis, the Cosmopolity, i. e. the Global Village, has been envisaged as a Participatory Democracy.  Accordingly, an attempt to stratify the Internet on Economic grounds, e. g. the current effort to eliminate "Net neutrality", is easily interpreted as a Plutocratic threat to that Democracy.